Conception
by MissMary
Summary: Some of the Autobots have new sparklings, and Megatron suspects that Sam had something to do with it. He wants one of his own, but he can't manage what the others have. Changes have to be made.
1. Chapter 1

This story is not a part of either the Download or the Prometheus story lines.

The original idea is a request from Mrs Bumblebee. Reviews are always welcome.

I do not own Transformers but plot bunnies from that universe tend to snag my brain and get me to write.

This is set after the second movie. Enjoy

**Conception**

**"**He is ready, my lord," Scalpel said. The tiny medic moved off the top of the containment unit to a safe area, and waited. Behind him, Starscream and Hook watched. Hook was passive. Starscream was sullen, and did not bother to hide it. Outside the hall a sparkling whined. Starscream turned to look at the door, the longing on his face unmistakable. Jealousy warped the leader's expression, though if everything else went as well as the earlier part of the project did, he would have his own soon, and so would plenty of others.

"Hook, Scalpel, start the reboot sequence. Starscream, get out." That last was snarled. Starscream obeyed that command as quickly as he could manage, and the whining outside the door stopped. Hook and Scalpel worked over the machine, which opened to reveal a small Cybertronian, patterned in black and gold. The two medics looked over the readings as they worked, Hook nodding to himself. After what seemed like vorns but was only a breem or two, they stepped back. Megatron, Lord of the Decepticons, stepped up and picked up the new Cybertronian, and carried him out of the room. "I will contact you if there is a problem. "

As he carried the still form outside, he could feel the new one's spark pulsing strongly against his chassis. Swindle had a pool on whether the transformation would result in a sparkling equivalent, would wake with full memories, or somewhere in between. Megatron found the area he was looking for, and settled. This was one of the restored areas in Cybertron, full of light and sound. He wanted the transformed being he held to wake to beauty.

Optimus threw the Cube into space to keep Megatron from taking it. Cybertron was dying when the Decepticon leader followed the Cube that held the All-Spark.

But when the Decepticons returned, following the Autobots and the new holder of the All-Spark, it was waking. Not even the most vicious of his Decepticons wanted to slow the awakening. Everyone knew that Megatron was killed by the Cube and revived later by a shard. But the All-Spark was not destroyed; it had a new holder. There was an uneasy truce with the Autobots for now, powered in part by this project. Optimus could not do what needed to be done with the new holder of the All-Spark. The holder knew there had to be changes, but he could not do them himself.

Megatron had to admire the courage of the holder, who asked the Decepticon leader to do what neither the holder nor Optimus could do.

Cybertron was coming back to life, but in the form the holder of the All-Spark was in, he could not do more than he had already done. His ability to provide new sparks was severely limited. If the power could not be released into Cybertron, and if more sparks could not be released, then the attempt to renew Cybertron and its population could fail.

Megatron made an offer, and the holder accepted despite his obvious terror. The result was renewed life for Cybertron, and the transformed being in his arms. If all went well, then the final part of the project would commence.

Megatron turned him so that when his optics onlined, he would see light and color and Cybetronian life, and plugged in to monitor as systems came on-line.

He waited for the transformed being with Sam Witwicky's face to come to life.

**_Years earlier_**

"But that's impossible!"

Bumblebee came to see Ratchet for some odd pings he was feeling in his chest. Mikaela insisted, worried about the twinges being near his spark even if the pain was not so bad. She promised she would not tell Sam and worry him if Bumblebee would just come and get checked out.

Sam was in the middle of some delicate negotiations with a country that wanted Autobot technology and from whom the Autobots wanted some much needed raw materials. There was a quiet warning from a trusted source that someone in the government was working with a company on the Autobot banned list. The company made weapons. It made the contract agreements tricky. Sam did not need his arm jostled right now.

"Whether or not it is possible or impossible, Bee, it's happened," Ratchet told him. The medic looked at the stunned scout with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was incredibly good news for their race. On the other, it meant that Bumblebee could not stay on Earth. They both turned as Optimus Prime came in.

"I have good news and bad news," Bumblebee told Sam and Mikaela a month later.

It had been a little over six weeks since the two of them had gone camping with Bumblebee. For the time that Sam had been in college, he and Mikaela stayed together, but a little at a time, they had grown apart. Sam was constantly torn by the needs of the Autobots and the needs of college. In the end, he finished more due to on-line classes, getting credit by taking exams, and being able to absorb large amounts of information at one time. Mikaela felt more and more left behind. They drifted, and finally on that weekend, they admitted to each other that while they were still friends, the lover's part was not working and it was time to part. Sam would be traveling constantly though he would be based at Diego Garcia; Mikaela was working full time with the other mechanics at Diego Garcia. The only change would be that they would have separate quarters.

So for one last time they made love. Bumblebee remembered sinking into a daydream, wishing that there was some way it could work, and ached in his spark for a sparkling of his own. Humans bred so easily. Of course, they had so little time. He did not notice that the pairing took somewhat longer than usual. He did remember that they slept hard afterward. Sam remembered that night vividly as well. He remembered wondering if farewell sex was always that good. It was like something got into both of them, and hung on forever, Through God knew it was the best sex either he or Mikaela ever had.

"Spit it out, Bee," Sam said, trying to be encouraging. "We can work it out somehow."

"I have a new spark in me," Bumblebee said. "Ratchet's building a sparkling body for it now." At first Ratchet was not certain he was right about the growth in Bumblebee's spark, but time proved him right.

Both humans stared at him in shock. "Bee, that's great news, wonderful news!" Sam was almost giddy. The guilt he always felt over destroying the All-Spark, the Cybertronian's means of reproduction, was suddenly gone. The selfish relief was incredible. "I thought sparklings came from the All-Spark," Sam said. "How?"

"That's not the point," Mikaela said. She waved Bee down so they could sit on his knees and talk more quietly. "Sam, if Bee's carrying a spark, then he can't be your ride anymore, can he? He's got to be careful."

"Only Ratchet and Optimus know now," Bumblebee said. "Optimus is afraid for me. It's not safe for me to raise a sparkling here. I have to leave Earth. "

"Bee…" Sam looked up at his best friend and guardian, stricken. "Oh, Bee!"

Two years passed after Bee left. Optimus left for a few weeks a year later, and when he returned he took Sam aside quietly and showed him a projection of Bee and the sparkling. "He's having a hard time keeping the others from spoiling him," Optimus said. "He said to tell you he misses you and Earth."

"But the baby-sparkling's worth it, isn't he," Sam said, eyes glued to the sight of Bee and the little one that clung to his leg, staring up at Optimus. He took a deep breath. "If only we knew how!"

"Yes," Optimus said, "but until then, Sam, we must keep quiet. We do not want more trouble from the Decepticons." Sam looked up at Optimus, and nodded. The bots took turns now to act as Sam's bodyguard. Sam missed Bumblebee fiercely.

Sam was on Diego Garcia for a few weeks when a government representative came and brought his daughter with him. Diana was in college, but out for a summer break, and he brought her as a reward for keeping her grades up. For once, the representative was working directly with NEST, not through Sam. Sam worked only eight hours a day for a week, got caught up on paperwork, and got a chance to actually spend some time in the human part of the base. He met Diana and showed her around the base.

She was not a beauty, like Mikaela, but she was pretty. Her initial shyness dropped to reveal a sense of humor. Sam found he was comfortable with her. She stayed a month, and one night when her father was out drinking with Lennox and some of the other soldier, Sam and Diana slipped off for some recreation of their own.

Chromia and Ironhide were sneaking off at the same time, more for some private time than anything else. They watched the two young people find a quiet secluded spot on the beach and begin the opening moves. Having witnessed several meetings on the beach between humans, the two Autobots commed each other, betting on what would happen next. When the discussion turned to contraception, Chromia and Ironhide thought about how the Autobots would love to have that problem. Chromia thought of Hope, Bee's sparkling and longed with all her spark for one of her own, while Sam and Diana began to engage in the tender dance that created human sparklings. She missed Ironhide's admiring comment on how long the humans were staying involved.

Two weeks later, Chromia and Ironhide were staring at Ratchet while the medic contacted Optimus and said, "It's happened again, Prime."

Optimus and Ratchet tried to keep this sparking quiet like Bumblebee's, but Ironhide could not help his urge to protect Chromia from the world, and that behavior was noticed immediately. The predictable blowup happened about two weeks later (some beings of both species, especially the women, wondered how she lasted that long) and near the barracks. The word was out with the bots, and only by urgent request of both Sam and the Prime (not to mention terror of Ironhide's cannons) did the news stay within NEST humans.

Theories and rumors flew. After a second kidnap attempt, in which Ironhide was hurt and a NEST soldier seriously injured, Chromia consented to go where Bumblebee was. Some months later, Ironhide proudly showed Sam and other bots holos of the sparkling cradled in Chromia's arms. This time the sparkling protoform was made by Wheeljack at the space base, but there seemed to be a basic form, as Stainless looked much like Hope.

It took a third time before Sam started to fit all the pieces together, with the unwitting help of a new scout, Hound, and a captured Decepticon. Hound was good at holography, and was assigned to Sam in the same role Bumblebee had.

Some of the guys at NEST were talking with Hound, Sideswipe, and Sideswipe's twin, Sunstreaker. Epps commented that Sam needed a girlfriend. There was some lewd commenting back and forth, but the twins and Hound got the idea that humans needed sex as something of stress relief and as a means to look for mates, in addition to making human sparklings. Sam, in the opinion of the soldiers, was not getting the opportunity for either on a regular basis. While Sam was not and would never be a soldier, they did respect that he worked hard as the Autobot representative and that he had guts. He was damned young. They were all veteran soldiers before they came into NEST; Sam got thrown into this as a kid, and he came through better than anyone ever had a right to expect. The twins and Hound picked up the real concern in their conversation.

By this time, both of the newbies had some idea of Sam's importance to the Autobots, and of his attachment to Optimus. They also were practical jokers on a strong scale. They hatched a plan that was made up in equal parts of what they thought was practicality and practical joking. Getting the information they needed took a little time, such as what features in a female Sam found attractive, and the rest was simply waiting for an opportunity. Given that Hound was Sam's regular ride and guard, with the twins as backup, they were set as soon as it appeared. They did manage to get in some practice rounds in during parties.

Then came New Year's, and a party on the base. Sam, being in one of the few places that he felt safe, decided it was high time he relaxed. He struck up a conversation with a girl who was pretty hot and seemed to be both intelligent and as determined to relax as he was. Early in the party, Mikaela came by. She and her husband had pictures of their children, which Sam and the young lady admired, and the subject turned to Bumblebee, Chromia and the sparklings. Eventually, Sam and his new friend left the party, and eventually, they wound up in Sam's quarters, one of the houses on base.

Sam woke up the next day with a mild hangover but he was really relaxed, remembering the pretty girl whose name he never picked up and the really good time they had together. Hound thought about how messy human mating was, though he admitted it felt really good and how much he wished he could get a sparkling like Bee's or Chromia's from it the way that human females did. He was thinking that during the entire encounter.

Two weeks later he was staring at Ratchet while the medic contacted Prime again.

At the same time that Ratchet was having a conference with Optimus and a sparked Hound, Sam and the twins were fighting a Decepticon attack from Starscream and Kickback, a grasshopper insecticon. At one point Kickback had Sam under him and kicked. Fortunately Sam dove out of the way. The kick hit a wall and rained debris everywhere. In the next moment, Starscream shrieked at him, "Capture, you fool, capture!"

Just then backup arrived in the form of Ultra Magnus, Arcee, and NEST. Kickback was knocked offline and captured; Starscream, true to his code, left his fellow Decepticon behind when Sunstreaker and Sideswipe started playing jet judo with him.

Back at the base, Sam got the required medical exam and got stitches in a few places. Moving somewhat stiffly, he accepted the painkillers the sympathetic medic gave him but did not take them yet. He swallowed some ibuprofen and called Optimus, determined to get some answers. He came in to the middle of the Autobot debriefing. "Why would Starscream tell Kickback to kidnap and not kill me?" Sam asked, getting to the heart of the matter. Unfortunately, all they could agree on was that they would have to ask Kickback.

With all the confusion over the attempted capture, they managed to keep Hound's personal news quiet. When Sam asked to see the prisoner, Hound was glad to go with him, grateful for the distraction. Sam stood outside the energon bars and considered how to ask his questions. Kickback stared at the young man in front of him. Silence reigned for a time, before Hound asked, "Why are you staring at Sam like that? You've seen humans."

"Yeah, but this one holds the All-Spark," Kickback said,

That ended the conversation with a crash-a literal one, as Hound went down and Sam shouted for help. Moments later, Sam was standing in front of the deactivated bars with his arms out, keeping Sunstreaker and Sideswipe from firing on the Decepticon, who was screaming that he didn't do anything while hunkering on the floor, trying hide behind the human. Optimus and Ultra Magnus had to drag the twins out of the brig after reactivating the bars, while Ratchet did a forced reboot on Hound.

"That's a switch, seeing the twins being dragged _out_ of the brig," Ratchet grumbled, working over Hound. As the now former guard groaned and came back to reality, Ratchet looked over at Sam, who was weakly leaning against the wall and looking as shocked as Hound.

Then Hound heard the sound of the twin's voices, and he lunged up and out the door. The scream of "You guys got me into this!" along with the sound of a weapon firing, sounded from the hall. Sam and Ratchet looked at each other for a moment before Ratchet charged out to the sounds of a hysterical Hound being subdued.

Ratchet's bellow of "Be careful, he's in a delicate condition," rang in the halls with the other crashes and yells.

"Him too?" Sam asked the wall.

"He sure doesn't sound that delicate to me," Kickback said, frowning. The commotion died. "What do you mean, him too?" Sam shook his head, more to clear his head than refusing to answer the question, and walked to the door. "Hey, I thought you wanted to talk?" Kickback yelled in near panic. He did not want one of the twins coming back, bars activated or not; while only certain personnel were supposed to be able to deactivate the bars, the twins evidently knew how.

"I wanted to know why Starscream wanted me captured instead of killed," Sam told him. "And don't worry, if the twins come back, they'll be in the other cell."

Hours later, Hound was in forced recharge, the twins were confined to quarters, and Kickback was being interrogated by Ultra Magnus while Optimus and Sam watched on video. Ultra Magnus told Kickback that if he did not talk and tell them the truth, he would put the twins in with him. Kickback could not talk fast enough.

The information that Kickback was giving was good and would be useful, and Sam knew he would digest that part later when it mattered. But right now, only two points remained in his head. One, the Fallen told Megatron that he, Sam, held the All-Spark. The second, that the Decepticons knew that there were sparklings and assumed that Sam had something to do with their creation. Somehow the Decepticons missed that the Autobots did not have the information that Sam had absorbed the All-Spark when the Cube was destroyed. They all knew that Sam absorbed something from the shard when he touched it, in that he remembered everything now. Optimus turned off the video and turned to Sam. "That is a logical conclusion," he said.

Sam nodded, preoccupied. "Optimus, I need to send a message to Bumblebee and Chromia," he said, "after I talk to Hound. I think I might know what happened, or at least some of it. In the meantime, do you think we can keep the All-Spark stuff quiet?"

"We can try," Optimus said.


	2. Chapter 2

Conception Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

They tried, and that kept the matter muted. Everyone knew that Hound sparked, after the chaos in the brig, but the information that Sam absorbed the All-Spark that day in Mission City was limited to Optimus, Ultra Magnus, the twins, and Hound, all who agreed to keep quiet. Kickback got an indefinite stasis lock. He was sent to the space base with Hound. Ironhide came down on a routine flight months later and brought a holo of all the sparklings and their creators. Hound's sparkling Pedigree was just as cute as the others, and the same color as his creator.

Sam brooded over the bomb that Kickback dropped. He talked to Hound before the newly sparked former guard left, and asked him to take a message to Chromia and Bumblebee and send back their responses. When those returned, he went to Ratchet. "I thought you said you could spare some time," Sam grumbled when he came in to find Mikaela there.

"I though we could use another human," Ratchet said. Sam sighed and climbed onto the table. Mikaela, already waiting, stuck her tongue out at him.

"Promises, " he said mock-wistfully, and Mikaela laughed, knowing Sam would never try to get between she and her husband. "Actually, Mikaela's a good idea," Sam admitted. He sat down at the table and pulled out his laptop. "All right, here's what I have. Did Hound ever tell you why he off-lined in the brig when he and I were talking to Kickback? "Ratchet shook his head. "It wasn't just hearing I absorbed the All-Spark." Mikaela drew in a sharp breath, but did not interrupt. Sam knew from that response that she had heard the rumors. "He and the twins hatched a plan for getting me some stress relief." He looked at Mikaela. "You know what Hound's really good at, right?"

"Holograms," she said. "Ones that are so good, they're real."

"Uh-huh," he said unhappily. "Well, it turns out that he was that girl at the party New Year's Eve, and-" Mikaela's peal of laughter interrupted him.

"And what?" Ratchet prompted. Sam looked down at the table and told him. Ratchet's response sent a wheezing Mikaela, who was just managing to calm down, back into giggles. "That sounds like something the twins would come up with," he grumbled. "Did it work?" Sam nodded unhappily.

Mikaela gulped breath. "So you screwed Hound's holoform and got him pregnant," she wheezed, and this time Ratchet got the joke. Sam even joined in the giggles this time.

"Well, it looks that way, doesn't it," he admitted. "That's not really how it works, though." The other two sobered up, though Mikaela still giggled every once in a while. "But it was about two or three weeks after that Hound came to you with those twinges in his chest." Ratchet checked his files, and nodded. "Mikaela, remember when we had that last camping trip, when we broke up?" She nodded. "Bee told me you made him go to Ratchet two weeks later."

She nodded. "Yes, he did. You were in the middle of some kind of talks, and I had to threaten him to get him to come in."

"Remember what I asked you right after that? About the sex?"

"You asked me if good-bye sex was always that good," she said, "What does that have to do with it?"

"Because twice more it's been that good, and two weeks later, Ratchet got a visit," Sam told them. He turned the laptop to show them. "All of them told me that they were close by and knew I was having sex. You know we never cared about Bumblebee watching." Mikaela nodded. " Chromia and Ironhide were just luck, they saw me sneaking off with Diana and watched." His sour expression told what he thought of that. Ratchet commented about how shy so many humans were about something that was totally normal, and Sam glared at him.

"Hound was a little more involved," Mikaela said, and they all laughed again, Sam a little sheepishly.

"Still, I was having sex, really good sex, and they were watching or close by, wishing that they were able to have a sparkling. When I talked to all of them, they remembered that. And look at the other timing," he said, and showed them. The dates ranged about eighteen months apart.

"Look at who got the sparks," Mikaela added slowly. "Bee, Chromia, and Hound, all of them prime parent material, loving, caring people. All of them wanted sparklings. You were doing the human thing that causes conception. Plus there seems to be a time connection. "

"The Prime worked with the Cube," Ratchet said. "You need to speak with him on how the Cube worked. " Sam's shoulders hunched. Lately he found that his safety arrangements were tighter, and that Optimus was finding ways to keep him on base more often. Fortunately the work had piled up over the holidays, and Sam had meetings and work already arranged, mostly in areas they considered low risk and with people they knew.

The twins were both assigned to him now for any trips outside of Diego Garcia except to NEST bases. They like the travel and the challenge of keeping up with Sam's assignments. The awe of being the guard of the All-Spark died out fast, in the face of Sideswipe's humor and Sunstreaker's vanity. They were good guardians, hard fighters when it was needed, but they did not smother Sam, and he resisted every attempt to replace them.

"Whether you like it or not, Sam, things have changed," Ratchet said, reading his reluctance correctly. Optimus appeared then, and Sam out of the room.

Sam discussed the results of the last round of meetings while they walked to the Prime's private office. "You need to relay that to Lennox and his team as well," Optimus said.

"Sent it to Will and Epps already," Sam said, as Optimus placed the human on his desk and closed the door "Ratchet said you knew more about how the Cube gave sparks."

"Yes," the Autobot leader said, considering the facts on Sam's laptop. "Those who wanted sparklings had to prove that they were able to care for a sparkling, and for that they had to register and be approved. They had to get a protoform, and then were given a time to approach the Cube. The priests there would help, if asked, but it was up to the creators to get the spark." He sighed. "But you are not the Cube."

"No, " Sam said, thinking. He started to pace, looking troubled. "If Kickback had told me about the All-Spark before the sparklings started, I'd have laughed at him. But now, with that, and the perfect memory, I have to agree with you that _something's_ going on. "

"The Fallen was a Prime, and though he was corrupt, he was old and wise," Optimus said. Then he brought something from subspace. "I don't know if you were aware I got this back before we left Egypt." He held out the Matrix of Leadership. "We might find answers here."

Sam reached out. Then he drew his hand back, and turned away. "Optimus, I'm not ready for this," he blurted out. "Oh, Primus, I sound like a teenager, but that's the truth. Even if it has the answers, I'm not ready." Suddenly his fear was gone, and he was sure he was doing the right thing. "No. It's not time _yet_. I know that's right. Doing the sparkings, so there'll be sparklings, that's right for now, but not more."

"Very well," Optimus said. He put the Matrix back in subspace. ""I think that you are correct You have a gift for knowing the right time for something, my friend. I have seen that in your negotiations, time and again. Now, looking at your research, let me sum up and add one thought. First, there must be the wish for the sparkling; second, the wisher must be the right material to be a creator; third, there must be enough time elapsed for the energy needed to gather. On Cybertron, a time had to be set, to be sure that there was enough energy in the Cube for the spark to be given. Fourth, the All-Spark must be stimulated, and that is why the sex is needed. Now, did you notice where you were when the sparking happened?'

"Ah-no, I didn't look at that. " Sam thought. "Well, on that camping trip, and the other two times I was on base, and I wasn't working."

"Exactly. You were free of immediate responsibility, and you felt safe. In other words, if you feel forced, nothing is going to happen." Sam nodded. "There is another matter we need to explore, which is your safety."

"When it comes to work, I don't want anything to change," Sam said immediately. "I go where I'm needed, or I can't get the job done. Optimus, the truth is that nothing's changed, not really. I'm not in any more danger now than I was. In fact, I'm in less if Megatron's changed his tactics. Kidnapping someone's a lot harder than killing them. I won't stop representing you. Look at all we've accomplished! "

Optimus considered. He could see the signs of Sam being influenced by something again, and now he knew what. "No, I do not want to replace you. You are remarkably skilled at your job, my friend. All right, for now, I'll ask you to try to arrange all meeting in places we consider safe. And from now on, I want you to have a human bodyguard, NEST trained."

"One more thing," Sam said, and outlined an idea. Optimus agreed, amused. Sam left the office soon after. Instead of heading for his office to catch up on the never-ending paperwork, he went to visit Mikaela. "I have a favor to ask," he said. "You know what we talked about with Ratchet today?" She nodded. He told her what he wanted. She grinned.

Soon after, Sam noticed a lot of the bots giving him considering looks. Mentally, he crossed his fingers. T Sam asked Mikaela to tell Sideswipe and one or two of the other Autobot gossips what they found out, and ask them to keep it quiet. As a result, as he hoped, the news was all over the base, and all the bots knew that there was no need to watch Sam for another year and a half. Since it was supposed to be classified information, no one questioned him on it.

Instead, there was a lot of interest anytime he paid any attention at all to women. Mikaela invited him to a party- well, invited wasn't the word. She informed him that he was coming. Curious about what she was up to, he went, and met a lot of the base personnel he knew, but seldom had time to socialize with. NEST took over some of the work of making arrangements for meetings, and the money for an assistant for paperwork and other office needs was approved shortly afterward, giving him a lot more free time.

Sarah Lennox held a party for NEST members and invited him to that as well. "How old are you now?" Will asked. "Primus, boy, it's high time you started thinking about settling down." Sam mingled, enjoying the company of people he knew he could talk to without watching every single word that came out of his mouth. He saw Annabelle, now an awkward pre-teen, and marveled at how much time had gone by since the Autobots arrived on Earth.

In a web visit with his parents, he talked about the parties and his mother was enthusiastic. For once his father agreed with her. "You have been working too hard," Ron Witwicky said. "It's about time you got out more." He managed to see his parents in person about twice a year, and ensured that they were protected.

"Right!" said his mother. "You need to see about getting me some grandchildren!"

There was only one problem, he discovered as he socialized. He was glad to see other people and start making a few friends. He began going out with a few groups. He made a few dates. He still had to work, and he had to travel, so nothing moved too very fast. Months went by, then a year, while he managed to build a network of friends his own age. But some of the girls went from making it clear they were interested, to getting a little more aggressive. With the finesse he learned in four years of college and six years of politics, he managed to not to insult anyone and most of the time managed to stay friends.

While he lived with Mikaela during college, they had begun with a normal relationship. School and pitching in with emergency meetings with the Autobots began to eat into more and more of the time that should have been spent with her, or so he believed. Looking back, he wondered if something else was wrong even then.

Instead of avoiding his usual checkup and getting scolded into an appointment by Ratchet three months past when he was due, he made the appointment for his annual physical early and expressed his worry. The clinic sent him for some tests. The results came just as he was about to embark on his usually set of meetings.

He wore his normal façade as he went to the meeting tables and the parties, and when he held private meetings. But when he went to the guest quarters, or the hotel suite, he was quiet. Then his aide gave notice, as his enlistment was ending and he decided to go home. Optimus had requested that NEST provide a bodyguard since the attack from Starscream and Kickback, but while the brass agreed that Sam needed one, finding one for every round of meetings he had was becoming more and more of a chore.

He was walking out of a meeting with some of the NEST brass when he met his solution. The meeting was in Israel this time. There were two girls-no, he corrected himself even as he thought it. These were women, and tough ones at that. They wanted to join NEST, but they were being turned down flat, and they were protesting the reason.

"What do you mean, you don't take women?" Sam stopped to look. He liked what he saw, in an aesthetic way. The two women had the strong bodies that athletes have, but that did not keep them from being attractive. Rachel was just a shade taller than Sam, with black hair and snapping black eyes and deeply tanned skin. Dinah was half a foot shorter, hair ash brown and eyes a bright green, but she looked just as capable as the other. Sam walked over to see what the fuss was about when everyone heard the sound of a jet and a transform as the twins went into action.

The vending machines in the corner transformed and the lobby became chaos as they lunged for Sam. One officer grabbed the Autobot representative and shoved him to the cover of the desk, while the rest of security reacted with enthusiasm, cornering the three small Cons and shooting them to pieces. Some of the pieces fell near the desk.

They did not see the small transform from one of the display areas that produced blades and sliced down the soldier closest to Sam, but the two ladies did, and by the time the vending Cons were subdued, Rachel was standing over the deactivated Con, having beaten it to pieces with a convenient piece of shrapnel. Dinah was standing on the other side of Sam with the killed soldier's gun.

Sam stood up. "You ladies want to join NEST?" he asked, and invited them to dinner. Rachel's home town was torn up by Barricade for no better reason that it was there at the time. Dinah was in Paris on a schoolgirl holiday when several of her friends were killed by the Decepticons. In addition to their response on the base, the ladies had excellent backgrounds. Both had combat training and had seen action. Rachel had done bodyguard work and Dinah was currently an aide for military intelligence.

When Sam came out of the restaurant, Sideswipe asked, "See something you like?"

"I think they managed to prove themselves just now," Sam retorted. "Just because the NEST brass has a damned military prejudice doesn't mean I'm going to pass up talent when it shoves itself under my nose!"

"They'll never get past the NEST tests," Sunstreaker predicted. "I know those guys. It wouldn't matter if they were as good as Elita or Arcee, they won't pass."

"Which is why Elita or Arcee will be doing the testing," Sam said, as they went to the nearby hotel garage and to the roof where the twins would be able to transform. "If they fail, they can't say that it wasn't fair. If they pass, the brass can't say they aren't good enough. Or they do, they'll regret it." Arcee's temper was legendary.

"How are you going to swing that?" Sunstreaker asked as Sam got out and they rippled through the transformation.

"I have an ace up my sleeve." Sam grinned. After the next meeting, he ate lunch with a few people and dropped hints about some devices that were not weapons but that would be very useful to the military. Optimus had already given him permission to set up distribution of the items, but the NEST brass fell all over themselves to agree to let the two female applicants be tested by the Autobots if Sam would make arrangements. He got a firm written exception that if they passed, they would be Sam's aide and bodyguard, but they would be full NEST members. Sam could see they thought the ladies would never pass.

The plane home held the two women, who spent the time talking to Sam, full of suppressed excitement. He went over what they could expect. The twins noticed, and shortly after the plane landed and Sam was personally getting Rachel and Dinah settled, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were in a huddle with Elita and Arcee. "We can't lower our standards," Elita said, considering the matter.

"Pits, no," Sideswipe said. "We need him to be protected and to have good help. But these fems- in six months, the All-Spark should be strong enough for another sparking."

"Sarah says that Sam is dating but hasn't seemed to find anyone suitable yet," Arcee mused. "And Optimus is going to have something to say about it." Optimus did. The first level was Arcee; the second was Elita; and the final one was Ultra Magnus.

Rachel passed with flying colors with all three of the bots, above the level of most NEST soldiers. Dinah scored an 'adequate for NEST' from Ultra Magnus, meaning that if she were male she still would have passed, if barely. Shortly afterward, the ladies met Optimus Prime. They came out of their interviews both shaken and awed. Will was waiting for them when they came out, and took them to give their oaths and to start basic training.

Sam won a lot of money betting they would make it.

Rachel was training with Ironhide and one of the British NEST soldiers, but she spent some of her time helping out as a courier as well, learning the base. Dinah got two weeks of training with Epps, who gave her a hard time at first, but eased up after a conversation with Sideswipe and Arcee.

While working on the filing, Dinah came across a letter that was from NEST medical section. Until she read it, she did not realize it was personal, and by then it was too late. She folded it, marked it as personal, and took it in to put on Sam's desk, hoping he would not notice.

But he did; he glanced over. He looked at her, and she met his eyes. They said nothing, but as she walked out, she paused and laid a hand on his shoulder. He patted it, and she left. For the rest of the day, as she worked, she thought about the letter.

She and Rachel shared a suite in Sam's house, separate enough that he got some privacy, but close enough that they could respond to any of the alarms. There was no barracks for women, so sharing a place made sense. It also enabled them to stay together. At dinner that night, the aide explained what was in the letter.

"Do you think he wants us to help him cover it?" Rachel mused.

"Where did that come from?" Dinah asked. She picked up the dishes and put them in the sink.

Rachel stretched. She brought dinner, so Dinah had to clean up. "The bots think that Sam is interested in us. That's why they helped him get us on board. It took me a while to figure out what they meant about stress management." She went over a blunt discussion she had with Ironhide.

"You mean they passed us because Sam was interested in us?"

"Don't be an idiot!" Rachel smacked her hand onto the table. "Why to you think we had to go up against the second in command? You know how important he is to the bots! They'd never had passed us if we weren't good enough! But Sam was the one who made sure we had a chance, and they tested us because they thought he was interested in us."

"Yeah." Dinah considered. "So you think he got us here to get them off his back?" Rachel nodded. "You know, that works for me. Let's cover for him." So the girls started inviting Sam to eat with them. Sam took them out to dinner and began introducing them to the social life on the base. Rachel and Dinah were accepted into Sam's circle of friends. The bots watched smugly, and waited.

"I'm going to see my parents in two weeks," Sam told Dinah later that year. "You guys want to come?"

"Ummm-" Dinah paused and looked at Rachel a little uncomfortably. "I was planning to go see my folks then, Sam."

"I'll go," Rachel said. "I want to take my leave in two months, and I've already arranged with Lennox to have a replacement then. Which bots are coming with us?"

"Mom, this is Rachel Morgan, from NEST, she's my bodyguard."

"She is?" his father squeaked. His mother squealed like a little girl and pumped Rachel for all she was worth. Sam could only hope that Elita and Ironhide were not listening in. The Autobots loved his mother- they thought she was hysterically funny.

"How is Bumblebee?" she asked. Sam dug into his pocket and pulled out a datacube.

"I have holograms of him and Hope," he said. Rachel thought he was talking about another NEST soldier until she saw the hologram. She watched in wonder as they saw a yellow bot and something she thought she would never see- a child bot, a sparkling. There were also holograms of Mikaela and her children. Ron talked about an old friend of Sam's called Miles. They retired to the home theatre room, which was once Sam's bedroom. Judy provided beer, wine, and popcorn. Sam and Rachel had no objection to spending a quiet night watching movies not available on the base yet.

Rachel enjoyed the way the days slid by. She slept late, helped Judy in the kitchen and talked about Dinah and Sam and her job on the base. She could tell she was making Judy quite happy. She helped in the yard, planting flowers with Judy while Sam and his father worked on the yard.

At the same time, she could see the tension building in Sam. One evening, she suggested a walk, but there was not a really safe area. He considered, and said, "I have an idea." She followed him out to the bots. "Ironhide, I'd like to go to the lookout."

"Let Elita and Rachel check it out first," Ironhide suggested. Rachel grabbed the helmet Elita pulled from subspace and headed out. When they got there, Elita said," Ironhide and I have already scouted the area; we knew Sam would come here. Rachel, have you noticed that Sam is quite tense?" Rachel looked over and saw that Elita was thinking ahead in another way, too.

"Yes, he needs some stress relief, "Rachel told her, and grinned. Elita snickered, and they headed back. "Coast is clear," she told Sam cheerfully. "Elita said that used to be a favorite spot for you and Bumblebee. Tell me about him." Sam talked happily about Bumblebee until they got to the lookout. Elita and Ironhide withdrew discreetly. "So Bumblebee has a sparkling? How'd he manage that?"

Sam looked at her. "How much do you already know?" he asked. She was lying on the ground, leaning back on her elbows. He was sitting by her, looking over the city lights.

"Bits and pieces," she said. "In the last six months I've known you, you haven't been laid, and couldn't care less. I'm sure you noticed that Dinah and I have been covering you over that." He nodded. "Now all of a sudden you're horny as hell, and the bots have been watching you with this expecting look. I asked somebody once if the bots just built more of themselves, and got one hell of a lecture about sparks and how they came from the All-Spark. Then I talked to Mikaela, and Dinah and I talked. "

"Oh."

"Yep. " She grinned. "There's a soft spot right over there. And it's okay with Dinah." Jumping up, she offered him a hand. He stood. She took his head and led him over to a small overhang with a pile of sleeping bags. Afterward she simply held him, and said, "Don't worry, Sam. We've got your back."

Two weeks later they were back on base and Elita was visiting Ratchet. Optimus went with her. Shortly afterward, Sam met Elita and asked if she had news.

"You'll get the hologram later this year," she said happily.

"Good news," he said, and started to go on.

"When will you see about having sparklings of your own?" she asked, and he waved the question off.

Later he ran across Optimus. Elita had contacted him, troubled by Sam's response. Optimus knew Sam as well or better than any other bot except for Bumblebee, and managed to get his human representative into his private office for a talk.

"You heard Elita's news," he said. Sam nodded. "I thought it would cheer you. What is wrong, Sam?"

"You know we talked a long time ago about the All-Spark thing," he said. Optimus nodded. "I'm not the All-Spark, but I am like the Cube. I'm the-" he groped for words, "-channel, like the Cube was, but human. Like, instead of just radiating energy the way the Cube did, it comes out in knowing stuff, in being able to see connections between people and events, in being able to know when it's the right time for something. I'm limited, because I'm human. But I'm changing in more ways than one. There's a price."

"I'm glad Elita sparked," he went on, and took a deep breath. "When the campaign started to get me a wife," he slanted a glance to see Optimus wince and nod, "I started to notice that something else was different. I'm not interested in sex until I'm close to a sparking time. So I had some test done. I'm sterile. The sparklings are the only children I'll ever have."

.


	3. Chapter 3

Conception Chapter three

I don't own Transformers. When brilliant ideas like that are handed out, I'm always in the bathroom instead of first in line.

Thanks to everyone marking with story alerts and favorite stories, but remember that reviews encourage writers to keep writing even more! Constructive reviews especially, and major thanks to those who do review_. _

_**There is a challenge and a request at the end of the chapter. Help me out, folks. **_

The first sense was feeling: cool air flowing over him, someone holding him, a feeling of security. Then came sound: water flowing, someone murmuring to him in soft words that meant nothing but encouragement. He could smell energon and water and metal. Finally his optics on-lined, and at first everything was a blur, but it was a blur of color. As his vision began to clear, he could see light and shapes. He stirred, and tried to say something. "Easy, little one," the harsh voice said, but the tone was kind. The transformed one was turned, and his golden eyes met the red ones above him. "Give your vocalizer a chance to come online."

He waited, and then said, his voice full of static but understandable, "It worked. Thank Primus, it worked. Cybertron's coming alive." He knew there would be a price, and he would pay it, but it was worth it. It would take time for everything to restore itself, but the power of the All-Spark had finally flowed into the planet, and it would live again. "Optimus?"

"I'll tell him you're online, but you and he swore on the All-Spark. You will stay with me until is it time for the two of us to finish the renewal. I will allow you to remain neutral.. " A nod answered Megatron, and he moved the new Cybertronian to a sitting position to let him look at the beauty around him again. "And what are we going to call you?"

…

Time passed. Every eighteen months or so, a sparking would happen. There was no telling who would be chosen. Sometimes it was a new arrival Sam barely knew, like the time Blaster came down. Sam met him that afternoon, and all of his cassettes. He thought they were a trip, and they eased his restlessness for a time. While Blaster loved his cassettes, he wanted a sparkling as much as anyone else. Blaster was heading back less than a month later, happy if bewildered. His cassettes were ecstatic.

Slowly, Optimus and Sam realized that Sam was changing.

He was heading for a ski vacation. He was riding in Bluestreak, with Mirage riding point. Dinah went ahead to make the arrangements. Bluestreak was living up to his name, chattering away. Sam did not mind; it was soothing to listen and not have to respond beyond a monosyllable now and then, especially as the sharpshooter was talking about Bee and some the stunts he pulled in his misspent youth.

Sam realized at some point that Bluestreak was quiet. There was a rumble coming from somewhere. "Hey, what's that noise?" he said, just as Mirage and Bluestreak put on a tremendous burst of speed. They were on a mountainside with nowhere to run except ahead.

The avalanche crashed into them. The world whirled into chaos. When everything settled, Sam looked around and realized that they were buried in white. "Blue?" he asked. "Are you there, buddy?"

"I have some minor damage, but it'll fix itself in a few days. Mirage almost made it out, he's transforming now. I can't, Sam, I'm afraid you'll smother if you get out and I try it, and I have to keep you warm. Mirage says he'll try to get to us. Are you okay, Sam?"

"If I was in a normal car I would be dead," Sam said. "As it is, I might have a bruise. Is Mirage damaged? "

"He says minor stuff but he got out, he said he's going to try to dig us out but I'm not sure he should do that because- oh no! He just fell!" Some time later he said, "He's more damaged. He can still move but not easily."

Sam sent him to get help. "This is a major road," he told the aristocratic warrior through Bluestreak. "The humans in this area will want to keep it clear, and they have the equipment for it. I've got some bottled water and some snacks, and I'll be all right for a while. Get the word out."

"He said what if the Decepticons show up?" his buried ride asked.

"To get to us they would have to dig us out, too. Be about the only useful thing they'd ever done." Bluestreak snickered. "We'll have time to call for help."

Bluestreak was able to keep Sam minimally warm, and Sam had bottled water. The bot managed to get Sam his suitcase, and Sam wrapped up in his warmest clothes and asked him to talk about Cybertron, hoping for distraction. But Sam could hear pain in Bluestreak's desperate chatter. Carefully he began guiding the stream of talk, until the chattering bot began talking about the terrible day that his entire home town was destroyed by the Decepticons, with the sharpshooter the only survivor.

There in the dark, with only Sam to hear him, he keened over the loss of not only his family and friends, but the necessity to fight back. The bot knew better than most that the Decepticons as they were had to be stopped. So Bluestreak picked up a rifle and discovered that he had a gift for hitting his target. "I'm a sniper," he said. "Snipers kill, and kill, and kill. You don't understand," the chatterer said to the listening human. "You don't have to kill."

"I killed Megatron," Sam pointed out. "I killed him because if I didn't, I would die, Optimus would die, and God and Primus knows how many more people would die. Do you have any idea how long I felt guilty about that? I killed another person with a soul. I had nightmares for weeks."

"But you didn't keep doing it! I kept killing. If I'm ordered, I'll fight again, kill again. I have to. If I have to, I'll kill to protect you, or Dinah or Rachel. "

"That's the difference, Blue. In killing Decepticons, you keep humans and Autobots alive. So how many people didn't die because you killed? Six thousand people died about the same time Optimus did, when the Fallen felt safe enough to leave. I was a kid and I didn't know any better, but it still happened. Six thousand, Blue, because I refused to help Optimus when he asked, because I made a selfish choice and a stupid mistake. Now I protect with my kind of talent, this job."

Bluestreak was quiet for a time. "But you brought Optimus back. I wish I could bring something to life. Tell me about what that time was like for you, Sam. "Sam began talking softly, telling the story as he experienced it, just to make noise and distract his friend.

He had no idea how long he talked, because he thought that Bluestreak needed to be reminded of how life could be renewed. He reminded Blue that the reason he and Sideswipe accompanied him was their business experience. They were buried most of a day before being unearthed. The crew that got him out sent him straight to a hospital while getting the Autobot towed. Dinah got Bluestreak immediately and Sam some time later. On his request Bluestreak became his consistent backup driver if the twins were needed elsewhere.

But every Autobot on the base knew something happened while Bluestreak was buried with Sam, within a day. Bluestreak no longer chattered constantly. He still talked a lot, but the ongoing never-ending chatter only happened when he was really distressed, which was rare.

The next sparking was on the base; Bluestreak was dropping Sam and Dinah off and the anticipation between them was thick enough to cut. He wished with his entire spark that he could have a sparkling to care for, though he wondered sadly how he could deserve one. When Sam saw Bluestreak rubbing his chest absently one afternoon a few weeks later, he walked up and said, "Hey, Blue, give me a ride to the infirmary." He texted Ratchet on the short ride, and Ratchet was ready to grab the newly sparked bot and get him into the infirmary before the whole base guessed.

When Ratchet told him and contacted Optimus, Bluestreak was stunned. "But I don't deserve-" He put his hand over his spark, protectively, even as he spoke.

"I don't choose, Bluestreak," Sam told him firmly. "If you weren't right, you wouldn't have that spark. Don't you want her?"

"Of course I do and I'll raise her right!" Sam smiled and left so Ratchet could give the lecture he knew Bluestreak would need.

A few days later he heard Mirage complaining to Sideswipe about his bad luck. He slid into a convenient alley to listen. "Bluestreak's a bundle of nerves and can't shut up," he added. "What business does he have with a sparkling? That's what you get when you have a human Cube."

"First off, Sam doesn't choose who gets the spark," Sideswipe told Mirage. "He's said that over and over. He barely knew Blaster, who has all those cassettes, but Blaster got one. It's the All-Spark that chooses. Second, haven't you noticed Bluestreak's not talking as much? Sam took care of him."

"What do you mean, took care of him?" Mirage asked. Sam listened hard.

"He's fixed the problem that made Bluestreak talk. It's like that with anyone who's got that kind of problem, with the mind or the spark. Sunny's been easier to get along with for ages, since we've been guarding Sam." Mirage considered that idea. Sideswipe loved his twin fiercely, but he was not at all blind to his faults. Both of them were arrogant and both were good in a fight, but Sideswipe got along well with other beings most of the time. His practical jokes were legendary but they were not malicious, and he had a shrewd skill at bargaining that helped Sam out more than a little. Sunstreaker was not just arrogant, but vain. He was not very social, his temper was worse than Arcee's, and he often made cutting remarks that hurt more because they were accurate. Worse, he was fiercely jealous when Sideswipe gave others what he considered too much attention.

Since he was assigned to Sam with Sideswipe as main guards, Sunstreaker's vanity was a little more tempered and he had a better grip on his temper. Sam arranged for him to begin painting again when he learned that Sunstreaker was once an artists. There was a demand for his work, from humans and Cybertronians alike. There were several long talks about Cybertron on long road trips. Sideswipe noticed more quickly than the others that Sunstreaker had mellowed a little. "Optimus assigns people to Sam sometimes hoping he can help, and sometimes he can. " Sideswipe's voice got a little sharp as he added, " So watch how you talk about Sam."

"Threatening me will get you nowhere," Mirage said, and his voice was cold.

"Who's threatening anyone? I'm giving you some good advice. If you ever want a sparkling, you better get over that attitude, 'cause I can tell you now you won't get one as long as you have it. "

"I don't see you with one," Mirage sneered, "and you've been guarding him how long?" He started to leave.

"I've got Sunny and he was all I could handle and all I want," Sideswipe said. Then to himself, "but sometimes I wonder." Just then Rachel hailed Sam's most common guard about some training. Sam wondered why she sounded a little different than Sideswipe. When they were safely gone, he headed for home.

Weeks later Sam was walking with a mine owner outside, over some rare metals they both wanted to mine. They were making a deal, some technology to make the mines safer in exchange for the metal. The bargaining was getting close, and the owner was getting excited. Sideswipe was helping Dinah with shipping arrangements. Sunstreaker made a funny but harsh low-voiced comment as he watched for Decepticons. Sam ducked his head with a smile, but later he told the twin, "Sunny, I agree with you that the guy has a voice like claws over metal, but wait until after the meeting to say so, okay? Ratchet needs the metal his mine puts out."

He expected the bot to grumble at him. Instead he got a charged silence. "You understood me?" Sunstreaker said. He sounded stunned.

"I just quoted you, didn't I? Besides, he's not a bad guy, it's not his fault his voice is harsh. Megatron's is worse." Sam kept one hand on the wheel, though Sunny was doing the driving.

"You think Megatron's is bad, you ought to hear Soundwave. His voice is so flat he has to tell you he's asking a question. 'Query- why don't humans understand superiority of Decepticons.' Like that." Sam snorted with laughter until his cell phone rang and he had to deal with business again. He could tell that Sunstreaker was talking over the com with his twin. He glanced over to Sideswipe, who had Rachel and Dinah, and made a mental note that Dinah needed to at least pretend to drive. He knew from experience that other drivers got nervous when they saw the car moving fine but the driver was talking and making notes on their palm computers.

When they got to the military base that was hosting them from the night, Sam got out and watched Sunstreaker and Sideswipe transform, something that still awed him. Rachel and Dinah walked over, talking and watching the bots stretch. "Hey, Sam, we're assigned to the hangers down the road," Sideswipe told him.

"They're in one of the airplane hangers, so they have room to stand," Dinah said. "It shouldn't be too far, so you guys can show if there's trouble," she added to the twins.

"Well, go get comfortable, then," Sam said. "We'll see you later. I might slide by and ask you guys to make a report to Optimus for me, if I find out we need this stuff earlier than the delivery can get to Diego Garcia, but I got the impression from Ratchet that it wasn't urgent."

"Works for me," Sideswipe said. "Text us, so we'll be there. I see a nice long stretch out there where I can really move without worrying about a human's neck breaking if I have to stop fast. I want a race. "

"Don't spook the base," Sam reminded them, but with a grin, as several officers showed up to greet them and escort them to guest quarters. He noticed the looks Dinah and Rachel gave him, but got absorbed in the greetings of the escort. After dinner and a shower, he was working on his laptop when Rachel and Dinah knocked. "Hi, ladies. Dinah, could you check the schedule tomorrow and make sure that the shipment we arranged today is on its way?"

"Sure," Dinah said, making a note on the palm computer. "Sam, why did you tell Sideswipe not to spook the base?"

"Primus, Di, you've seen how freaked people get if Sunny and Sides get to racing and doing some of those sword exercises. I don't want half the base running to me saying the twins are killing each other again." He finished the report he was typing and sent it. "Why do you ask? You were right there when they said they were going to race."

"He wasn't speaking a language I knew," she said dryly.

"I thought you told us that no one would ever understand Cybertronian," Rachel added. "But Sides was chattering it to you, and you understood him just fine."

Sam looked from one to the other and waited for the punch line. "Come on, what's the joke? I can't understand Cybertronian. No human can." They insisted that the twins were speaking Cybertronian. "I need a walk," he said then, and snapped the computer closed.

Dinah, resigned, strapped on her gun. Rachel already had hers. They walked into the dark, cool night, heading for the hanger where the twins were assigned. The twins were not racing, but they were sparring. Sam waited, watching the smooth moves, the expert timing and the glint of the electric light on their metal bodies. After a time, they stopped, and started talking. Sam listened as they compared what they heard about the space base. Sam immediately withdrew into the shadows to listen.

"You remember what Ironhide said about the base the last time he came back?" Sideswipe said. "How big it was getting with all the neutrals trickling in?"

"Yeah, it's getting to be a colony. Since we have the Prime and Sam with the All-Spark, and the sparklings, they're showing up. Most of them have learned to survive pretty good. With Wheeljack and Perceptor up there figuring out ways to get metal out of the asteroids, they're managing to do some building."

"Wonder what it would be like to live with only Cybertronians again?" Sunstreaker mused.

"Nah. I like a planet better than space. Besides, the 'Cons are here. We might get assigned there later, though. Blaster said a lot of the Cons are deserting since that big project they needed the energon for fell through and the Fallen's gone. They've never found out what it was. So far they haven't given the place any trouble they can't handle, but that could change.

So, Sam thought, the space base was turning into a colony? Sam filed that information away to think about later and walked around the building, passing Rachel and telling her to go back to their quarters, he'd have one of the twins give him a ride back. She trotted off with Dinah. "Hey, guys, wanted to talk to you." They came over and sat against the building. "Tell the girls the prank's over. I can't understand Cybertronian."

Sunstreaker considered. Then he talked. Sam understood every word he said, but he also knew that there was no way to translate what Sunstreaker was saying without using a lot of generalized terms. There were no words for the concepts in any language he knew, and Sam knew eight languages- one of the perks to remembering anything he saw and heard- in addition to smattering of a lot more. Seeing his stunned look, Sideswipe held out a hand. Sam sat, and Sideswipe lifted him to an outstretched leg and let him quietly freak.

"Can you keep this quiet a while?" he asked. Bots talked in Cybertronian around him all the time. Sam figured he could learn things he'd never find out any other way. Considering that Sideswipe frequently gave him advice on how to handle some of the negotiations, Sam knew he was letting himself in for some hard bargaining.

In the end, the agreement was that the twins would tell Optimus, but no one else, and Sam would look the other way at certain points in time, plus several waxes and some new paints Sunstreaker wanted to try. Sam agreed. He could always get the girls to report for him if he thought the pranks Sideswipe had in mind were dangerous.

Optimus responded to the news by pulling Sam in for a meeting. "Are you ready yet?" he asked his representative. "The changes are coming slowly, Sam, but they are ongoing. You understand Cybertronian. You are healing the hearts and minds of several of our soldiers. You always know when one of us is near." Sam had not noticed that one yet. It was too automatic, like the Cybertronian.

Sam considered, trying to reach into himself for the answer. He was deeply afraid of touching the Matrix, but he was not sure how much that was that he was afraid of chance, or that it was a warning. He paced the table before shaking his head. "No, not yet, I'm not ready. There's still something missing, and maybe a bunch of somethings." He smiled crookedly. "After all, Optimus, you've gotten six sparklings in ten years. The technology for materials exchange is going just fine. Think of all the medical advances and green technology is going out there! We're making a lot of people's lives easier."

"Yes," Optimus said. "You're right, there's no hurry."

Shortly afterward a neutral came down to help with a project. He was quiet, polite, and did good work. While he was civil to the human population, he made it clear that he did not like dealing with them. At the same time, he asked a lot of questions and spent a fair amount of time on the Internet. When he was stonewalled on certain information, he made note of who might be the easiest to provoke.

Sunstreaker was without his twin that afternoon and practicing on the firing range when he noticed someone watching him. Looking around, he saw Watts coming over. "Have a reason for being here?" he asked.

"I heard that you and Sideswipe drive one of the humans around," Watts said. "I was wondering why."

"He's our representative with the humans," Sunstreaker said. Watts waited for him to continue. Sunstreaker set up another line of targets instead. When he finished testing his targeting systems, he found Watts was still there. "What?"

"Why do you consent to being a transport and guide for a human?" Watts asked. "You're good, you and your brother, so why lower yourself?"

"Orders," Sunstreaker grunted. Then he glanced over at Watts. "And he's my friend, and Sideswipe's friend. Look past the organics, glitch. These are people even if they don't have sparks you can see." Then he turned back to the firing range.

Watts turned to go, and found a human observing him from the entrance to the range. Watts gave him a considering look, classifying him as a male, a little above human normal, and maybe the third decade in age. His skin was pale, his cranial fur a dark brown and he was not a soldier, as he did not have the athletic build the NEST soldiers all had. He was slender but in good health, from what Watts could tell. As Watts came closer, the human stepped away, against the wall and nowhere close to where Watts was walking.

As Watts went past, he stiffened and looked down at the human. "Keep going," Sunstreaker said behind him. His weapon was out, if pointed at the ground. Watts went on, glancing back once, but Sunstreaker did not move from the human until Watts went around the corner and out of sight.

"Thanks, Streak," Sam said. "Nobody's looked at me like that since Perceptor showed up and wanted to do some experiments." Perceptor found he was surrounded by a group of simmering bots, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe in the lead, and Optimus had to defuse the situation. Perceptor headed back to space within the next few weeks. "Was that the neutral?" Sunstreaker nodded. "I have time to give you that wash and wax you won. Feel up to it?"

"Hand wax!" Sunstreaker crowed. He bet Sam the wash and wax that Rachel would give in and go out with a NEST soldier who had been courting her lately. He transformed and opened a door for Sam before heading for the wash racks. Of course the bots could do their own washing, but all of them loved being washed and waxed in their alt forms. Most claimed that their favorite humans were the best, but Sunstreaker swore by Primus that Sam was the very best, and any bot that got a wash and wax from him agreed except Ironhide and Ratchet. Ironhide held out for Will and Sarah Lennox working together, and Ratchet said Mikaela knew the exact right spots to polish.

While Sam was waxing, he asked, "Why did he look at me like that, Streak? He's seen a bunch of humans by now."

Sunstreaker answered him in Cybertron. Sam kept polishing as he listened. The concepts did not translate well into human terms, but Sam grasped that Watts could sense the power in Sam. "All of us can, but when you're away from other humans it's stronger," the twin finished.

Sam kept polishing as he thought about what Sunstreaker told him. "If I remember right, we have meetings for the next two weeks straight, "Sam said thoughtfully. "How much longer is he going to be here, I wonder? Because I don't trust him."

"I'll contact Optimus on that." Sunstreaker said, and did so as Sam finished the polish and began gathering his supplies. "Optimus says not to worry, that he's only here one more week, and we'll keep a pair of optics on him all the time. "

But Watts did nothing in the week he had left but finish the work he agreed on. While Sam was giving Sunstreaker his wax, Watts was talking to Mirage. No one who saw them thought anything of it. Mirage was a dedicated Autobot, valuable in the field and totally loyal to Optimus. At the same time, Mirage did not like Sam. He respected the work Sam did, and when it was his turn to guard, he did his job well, but he was relieved when he went to other work. The idea that the All-Spark was channeled through a human grated on him. He was wise enough to keep quiet to most of the bots after Sideswipe clued him in, but Watts was going to be leaving and never coming back. Mirage was happy to find a sympathizer.

That meant that Watts was able to meet with a client and provide information. The client paid him with some specialized equipment. When the neutral was far enough away, the equipment exploded, leaving pieces of Watts scattered in space.

The Decepticon who arranged for the information looked it over and began to make plans. He was desperate, but he knew the value of patience. He had a lot of arrangements to make.

Sam was as stunned as everyone else when the next one sparked was Sideswipe. He knew before anyone else, as usual. He contacted Ratchet, who called Sideswipe in for a routine physical while Optimus pulled Sunstreaker in. When Optimus got the call, he braced himself and told Sunstreaker. He waited for a jealous explosion.

"I'll take care of both of them," Sunstreaker vowed. "Sides wants this sparkling, we were talking about it a few weeks ago. Primus knows I'm no good for taking care of brats myself, but any sparkling of Sides is part of me." Optimus resolved to make sure Sam had more contact with traumatized soldiers if he could make this kind of change in Sunstreaker.

So an overjoyed Sideswipe and Sunstreaker left for space, leaving Sam without his best guards. Optimus restricted Sam to the safer countries until the new team was trained to his satisfaction. Sam chafed until Ironhide came with a new hologram of all the sparklings.

Sam looked at all of them: Bumblebee with Hope, Chromia with Stainless, Hound with Pedigree, Elita with Sirius, Blaster with Boombox, Bluestreak with Joy, and Sideswipe with Sunspot. Sunstreaker was by Sideswipe, beaming at his brother and nephew with pride. "Does my spark good to look at them," Ironhide said fondly. Sam just wished he could actually meet them. He mentioned the idea once, and regretfully Optimus killed it. A human could not survive on the base; the danger of kidnap for the sparklings was too great on Earth.

It did not take long for Arcee and Jolt to make a team as good as the twins. Optimus deliberately chose two Autobots completely uninterested in sparking. A full year went by without any Decepticon attack.

Sam was finishing a series of meetings in Washington DC. Dinah went on to the hotel to finish some arrangements and make some preliminary reports. "Another day," Sam remarked to Rachel as they waited for Jolt. She, as usual, was keeping an eye out. There were about five businessmen in suits in the lobby.

The first dart hit her. When she felt it, she slammed Sam down before going limp. He checked her frantically and felt her breathing as a hail of more darts flew, dropping security and bystanders alike. He crawled for the door, and jumped up to bolt out when the darts stopped, only to discover it blocked by one of the suits. Without hesitation he attacked, using one of the moves Rachel and Sideswipe drilled into him in case of attempts like these. The suit waited until the exact right time and grabbed Sam into a strong hold while someone else shot him. Sam was out before they got through a service door and into a van.

Sam woke up cold. He was alone, lying in a comfortable bed, but his first order of business was to find a toilet, water, and warmth. He found a bathroom, which took care of two of his needs. While he was hunting for a thermostat, he had explored most of the living space. It was the size of a small apartment. In time, he figured out that the only time he was going to be totally warm was in bed. Otherwise he dressed in the warm clothes provided and sipped hot drinks constantly. That meant he was only a little cold instead of freezing.

A week into his solitude, Sam had several visitors. They were burly men, and Sam recognized the same ones who took him. They refused to speak to him. Instead they grabbed him and hauled him into the bedroom. He heard noise, and talking. The language was different from any one he ever heard before, and considering how much he traveled and the places he traveled, that meant it was truly remote. One voice was higher than the others. After at time, a woman came in to look at him. She was attractive without being pretty, with bronze skin, black hair and eyes, and a plumb figure.

In clear if strangely accented English she said, "We brought supplies. What do you need?"

"I'm cold," he informed her, "and I need a razor. What the hell is going on here? Why are you doing this? If it's money…"

"No," she interrupted. "The boss is offering something a lot better, so shut up. I will turn up the heat a little. Anything else?"

"I'm bored out of my mind," he snapped.

"Look at the supplies," she said. Then she shot him. He woke up to find that it was somewhat warmer, and he had a crick in his neck. He got up and went to investigate the supplies. Well, whoever got him this stuff had some good information or they got the Autobots to pack it. It held every food Sam liked and was able to cook, a lot of his favorite drinks, staples like salt and sugar, a computer and a lot of the games he preferred. There were books and magazines, and a few puzzles. Well, well, well, whoever was kidnapping him was certainly taking care of him physically. Either these were very moral kidnappers, or a Cybertronian was involved.

Slowly, a month passed. The quiet started to drive him crazy. He did exercises just for something to do. The computer had a modem, but absolutely no way to connect to anything. He tried to guess where he was. Considering, he decided was most likely north, as there was more land that stayed cold in the north. He wondered if he was in Siberia, Alaska, or Canada; pulling up a map of the northern hemisphere, he started adding other places. Then he tried to eliminate some based on the language he heard. He got nowhere, but it gave him something to think about.

Worse, he was getting restless. When he realized what was wrong with him, he started adding up the needs for a sparking. Whoever was doing this had a good grasp of the basics of sparking. Sam was at the power limit needed for a sparking now. While he was not happy, he was not stressed. He was absolutely certain that somewhere, there was a Cybertronian desperate for a sparkling, and that when the humans who watched him believed he was desperate, he would get a partner.

At the same time, how could whoever was doing this was be good parent material? He could not think of a single Decepticon that could possibly be a good parent! He remembered Watts. Primus, there was his answer. There was a neutral or band of neutrals that wanted a sparkling, and they figured, correctly, that only Autobots were going to get close enough to Sam to get one.

The thought helped Sam relax. Neutrals would not stay on Earth to be a problem, and they very well might be good parent material. He could deal with that.

He found that he could slip into a kind of meditation at times now, and that helped a lot. He felt something happening when he did that, a kind of connection he could not explain. He did not try.

He woke from an afternoon nap to noise outside the door. "Do you hear me?" the woman called.

"Yeah," he said. She instructed him to stand back from the door. He did, and a blast of colder air hit him as soon as they opened it. "It is twenty degreed below zero outside," she informed him, as the rest of the men trooped through with boxes. "I would not advise you to try anything."

"Is there a way I can just look outside?" he asked. "I'm going crazy cooped up in here all by myself." She regarded him. He was shivering as he spoke, but he was looking out the door hungrily.

"I'll consider it," she said, and motioned him back to his room. She gathered the old entertainment into a box while he bombarded him with questions that she did not bother to answer.

"My friends are probably worried to death over me," he tried. "Can't I at least write them a letter? Something to let them know I'm alive?"

"My boss gives the orders," she said shortly. "He said to tell you that you are safe and you will not be harmed while you are here. When he has what he wants, he will contact you on what happens next. He said for me to tell you that he acknowledges that you are important and that if this was not necessary he would not do this. He will see that you will be released from him to appropriate guardians when he gets what he wants. He said you know what he wants." One of the men came to talk to her. Sam listened to the conversation and learned again that it was like none other he ever heard. She turned to Sam. "Fifteen minutes max," she said.

One of the men brought him a heavy coat, pants, boots, and gloves. Sam discovered that he had the inside suite to a fairly large lodge or house. The escort did not let go of Sam while they were out. The cold was brutal. The ground was hard and rocky, but there was one good view, of the sea.

Back inside, they got the coverings off a shivering Sam and shoved him in the bedroom. He made no effort at all to follow them out. Instead he headed for a warming shower, and found an electric shaver there. When he came out, beard gone, he sniffed, and followed a wonderful smell to the kitchen.

She was not just pretty, she was drop dead gorgeous, and in ways almost exactly opposite his bodyguard friends. He guessed she was in her late twenties or early thirties, like he was. She had a lush figure. Like Rachel, she had dark eyes and hair, but her skin was bronze instead of Rachel's tan. Her hair was dark and long, and she had a round face with wide, appealing eyes, high cheekbones, and a generous mouth. She was several inches shorter than he.

She smiled at him as soon as he came in, and dished up a plate. The food was new to him, and he tasted it cautiously. Then he dug in. When his plate was empty, she asked him something, and he did not understand her at all. Instead he got up, set a place, and handed her both the new plate and his old one. When she served him again, she filled the new plate, and ate with him. While she did dishes, not letting him help, he tried different languages on her. She began by shaking her head, and as he kept trying, she started to laugh at him.

He held off an entire week. She wooed him with constant hot food and drinks. She brought a video game player with several two-player games, and played with him. At night she used the video player to play music. Once she tried an erotic movie, and he refused to watch with her. She gave him a little space, making it clear she was willing, but not pushing.

He woke in the middle of the night on the seventh day to find her crawling naked into his bed, and his resistance went straight to the pit. When he got up the next morning, she was bubbly cheerful and fed him a large breakfast. He sat down to read while she cleaned up.

Some time later he woke up, to discover the apartment was stripped of everything but basic furnishings and a set of outer garments like the ones he wore to go outside and some dishes. He was lying on them. He hauled himself up and tried the door. It opened easily, and when he checked it, it no longer locked from the outside. Excited, he dressed in the clothes and hurried outside, wedging the door with a sturdy mug just in case. For the first time, he learned that Optimus was right; he could tell when Cybertronians were nearby. Just in case he was still dealing with the neutrals, he peeked out.

The door was yanked off its hinges and he fell flat on his face into the rocky ground. Getting upright, he looked up-and up- and up. His shivering was not so much due to the cold anymore. He started to step back to bump into a foot. Megatron was in front of him, and Starscream's foot was between him and the door. There was nowhere to run.

"So, the information was accurate," Megatron rumbled harshly. "Come, boy, we are ready for you."

…..

Challenge: Who got the spark? Request: Designation for the transformed Sam. I have an idea but it is not perfect. If I pick a name from a suggestion, I will give the author credit at the beginning of the story. If the name comes from a legend or story, please give me that background so I can include it in the story line.


	4. Chapter 4

Conceptions Chapter Four

I don't own Transformers, Hasbro does. Sigh.

I got a lot of wonderful suggestions for names! They were all better than what I had in mind, but I had to make a choice. However, if I need names for hatchlings, I will be using more of the names, and I will acknowledge the ones I got them from. Both the name for Sam and the name for the Decepticon hatchling came from nessus and are used with gratitude.

...

The change from human to Cybertronian was not easily made. He was not like a sparkling, and yet he was.

He remembered all of his life experience as a human adult, but that had several downsides. For one thing, he had to relearn how to use his body. Megatron remembered putting him down to walk the first time. The youngling fell flat. The Decepticon leader walked him back by holding on to his hands to steady him. He managed to walk alone by the next day, but he was clumsy. It was like that on every physical task except when they found him a suitable land vehicle to scan. He scanned it, transformed, and drove around without trouble.

The youngling had regular visits from the Autobots, and today was Ratchet's day. "He's trying too hard," the medic said. " When he's trying to translate from organic to mechanical, he's having trouble. When he just trusts his coding, he's fine. He needs to learn when to trust it. "

"Fine," Megatron said, watching the youngling circle the nearby buildings. "How?"

"Use the ones who do that already," Ratchet told him. "Use the sparklings. " He paused a moment. "All of them."

Megatron did not want more Autobot exposure than he could help, but he grudgingly made arrangements for the visitations to include sparklings and their caretakers. He brought their own Decepticon sparkling with them. When the youngling saw Bee, his body language shrieked joy before his vocalizer did, and jealousy raged through the Decepticon leader's spark. Then golden eyes, unique like their owner, turned up to him, and the youngling said, "Thank you!"

The jealousy was gone; the youngling knew who he belonged to.

Whirlwind followed more slowly, curious about the other sparkling. By the end of the visit, all the small ones were exhausted, and both caretakers were highly amused. The sparklings were ready to get back to go home, and the youngling said his farewells wistfully but returned to Megatron without fuss. The medic was right; playing with the sparklings, the youngling was learning when to let his coding manage his body and when to think about what he was doing.

On their way home, he looked up at his mentor and said, "I've chosen a designation."

"Good. I was getting tired of 'you.'"

"I'm a puzzle to everyone, including myself. I'm Enigma."

…..

Sam looked at his surroundings and wondered again if the cell was more like a goldfish bowl, a hamster cage, or a cage at the zoo. The decision tended to vary depending on who was around at the time. He spent most of his time watching whatever Decepticon was in the recreation room at the time. There was not much else to do.

Starscream brought him up. Sam would never forget seeing the Earth fall away from him from Starscream's cockpit. Then he went to sleep. He woke up in his bubble with a sore throat, and wondered just what they had done to him before he woke up. In a way, he was surprised that he woke up with an intact brain.

Forcing his stiff body to move, he found that he had supplies as well. His sore throat improved with water. He wondered why he was not hungry. He wondered if any of his friends knew he was alive. He wondered if someone had managed to step up and take his place. None of those thoughts were new. He wondered who got the spark.

Megatron appeared when he was awake for about two hours and was exploring the bubble. The place was about the size of the apartment he had lived in for the last month or so. All those questions fled his brain as he faced the Decepticon leader. Megatron put an elbow on the surface the bubble was on and stared down at him for a time. Sam waited with the patience born in dozens of meetings.

"I have heard some interesting things about you, boy," the Decepticon leader mused. "My brother," he spat the word, "misses you, it seems. I cannot decide whether to taunt him by telling him of my possession of you or to enjoy watching him search."

Sam considered, and went for being blunt. "What do you want from me?" He was alive, and they were going to some effort to keep him that way. There had to be a reason.

"You hold the power of the All-Spark. I have need of it." Before Sam could ask him how, he rapped on the bubble. "This holds the warmth and air that humans need to live. There are human refueling needs there, and the means to prepare them. Water is scarce and to be used for refueling. There is a place for waste here." He pointed to an area of the bubble and waited while Sam found the toilet and trash disposal." There is a solvent for cleaning that can be used on your fleshbag body and the armor we have provided you. "It took Sam a moment to understand that armor meant the clothes he was wearing. "You will inform me when you have needs. If they are reasonable, they will be provided. Do you understand?" Sam nodded.

He left. Sam went back to exploring his bubble. Whoever got him the food believed in nutritious and did not understand the concept of comfort food. He found a pile of blankets and comforters and guessed this was his bed. He found some weird-smelling stuff that he figured was the solvent. He sat on the bed and considered his situation, and went into a kind of meditation state. He came out of it when he became aware of someone in the room with him.

The midnight-blue Decepticon watching him was one of the weirdest he had ever seen. He had tentacles, like Jolt's whips. He studied Sam for a time, motionless. "You are Samuel James Witwicky," he stated, with the deadest voice Sam ever heard. Well, all the Decepticons who were on Earth during the Fallen's brief return knew Sam's face, date of birth, and social security number.

"You're Soundwave," he said, fitting the voice to the description Sunstreaker gave him. According to Sunstreaker, Soundwave was a communication specialist. The Autobots in space had chased him off of human satellites before. They said he was a telepath and just about impossible to catch. When their human representative asked if Soundwave could read human minds, they shrugged at the same time.

"We don't know what he can do with organics," Sideswipe had said. "He's a Decepticon, so all he wants to do with humans is kill them."

That was not the most reassuring conversation to remember when confronted with the Decepticon in question. The silence grew for a time. "Correct," Soundwave acknowledged, and left. Others came by. Some of them glared. Some of them just looked.

Megatron came back the second day with Soundwave, and Sam wondered if he was in for it. Megatron asked if he had everything he needed. "Everything I need, yes," Sam admitted. After he looked through everything, he recognized the personal items as being from his captivity. He was revising his belief that the Cybertronian that engineered his captivity was a neutral. He remembered how the woman said he would be released to an appropriate guardian. Well, for sure no neutral or Autobot would agree that Megatron was an appropriate guardian. But which one? Who in Primus' name in the Decepticon forces would be a good parent?

"Is there a reason for me to be here?" he asked, hoping that the politer rephrasing of the question might bring him an answer.

"Human: radiates power," Soundwave told him. "Autobots have sparklings. Conclusion: human responsible." Crap, Sam thought. If a Decepticon was the one holding him, he had not shared his information with his leaders. Maybe it _was_ a neutral that had the spark.

"This was not so when we last met," Megatron mused. "In fact, I thought I had killed you. My aim was not as good as I thought."

"You did kill me," Sam told him. "The Dynasty of Primes brought me back." The two 'Cons stared at him, making the human wonder if he should have kept his mouth shut.

"Interesting," Megatron said slowly. "Let me tell you, fleshbag, I do not want to keep you alive." The controlled rage in his voice made Sam take a step back. "Yet from the day you ran from me carrying that Cube, it is clear you have a connection to it. You used it to kill me. "One huge fist crashed into the surface on the right side. Sam stumbled. "When you touched a shard of it, it downloaded information to you to find the Matrix." The other fist slammed onto the other side, and this time Sam fell.

He looked up into blazing crimson eyes. "I knew you revived Optimus with the Matrix, before my master took it for its rightful purpose and that traitor Jetfire gave my brother the strength to come after it. "

Megatron loomed over the bubble. "You tell me the Dynasty of Primes brought you back from death. I saw the glyphs in your mind, Samuel James Witwicky. I _will _know more. I _will _find a way to harness that power." He pushed back. "I know now my master was short-sighted. There is no way of knowing where that power would go, unleashed. Until I find out-" he waved at the bubble, "there you stay. At least there, you will no longer be sand in my gears, forever strengthening Optimus Prime's position with the humans." He slammed out, followed by Soundwave.

Sam let himself fall flat. He believed that maybe he was happier ignorant.

Megatron returned daily, by Sam's reckoning. He had no way to tell time. He did not even know where he was, except that he was in space. He kept waiting for an interrogation. Instead there were conversations. Sam got up the courage to ask about the Fallen. Megatron talked about the ancient one, and rambled about his own dreams.

"Cybertron had peace for thousands of years," he sneered. "But I saw what Optimus didn't. We were stagnant. The Council was corrupt. "He paced. "We needed challenge! We needed to expand, to take new worlds. It would have given the restless strong ones a way to thrive, to rise, away from the established families who only wanted to keep everything as it was, so they could stay on the top. But no, Prime couldn't see it, couldn't see that his attempt to use the system would never work."

"And the Fallen?" Sam asked.

"He showed me that the only way to proceed was to fight, to bring them down. And we did it, at first, but we had to have the Cube." He ranted over how Optimus would never stop fighting, and kept the war going long after it should have stopped. Slowly Sam pieced together Megatron's side of the story over time, in subsequent conversations. He compared it to what he knew, and saw there were correlations-twisted, but there. There was no doubt in his mind that Megatron did have a valid reason for seeking change before the Fallen got its claws into the Decepticon leader and started twisting.

Somewhere along the line, both of them realized that the hate was going away. "You are soothing to be around, boy," Megatron admitted at one point.

Megatron had an ego that was the size of Mt. Everest, which was no surprise to Sam, but Megatron did have values and always believed he was pursuing them. He blamed everyone but himself for not reaching those goals. Sam reflected that if Megatron could ever see that he was wrong, he might just be salvageable.

After a time, he discovered he was in the recreation room, not a lab as he first thought. All the Decepticons came here to get energon. Certain that a mere human could not understand their language, they talked freely.

He could feel something pulling at him, draining him of energy, but he could not figure out what it was. He doubted it was the Cons; he was around the Autobots constantly and never felt this kind of pull.

After the seventh visit and Sam's twenty-first meal, Megatron asked if Sam needed more supplies. Sam listed what he needed, and stuck in a few things he wanted. Not long afterward, Starscream came in with the supplies, leaving them outside the bubble. Megatron came in soon afterward, with another, much smaller bubble. He put the new bubble against the larger one, and where they touched, the bubbles melded. "I will show you the base," he said. Sam got in, more than eager to get out of his cage.

He should have known it was a trick. He did get out, but Megatron took him straight to the med bay. Sam was dumped from the bubble onto a large table, only to be met by the tiny 'con who wanted to take his brain. Sam kicked it halfway across the table before the other, larger 'con stopped him and pinned him to the table. Scalpel stripped Sam ruthlessly. Sam struggled, yelped when they took blood, fought when they did tests, and cursed when they asked prying questions. "Do you want your new supplies?" Megatron asked in a short silence. Sam sent him a furious look. "If you do, then cooperate. Hook and Scalpel are medics. They will not hurt you unless under orders."

"That piece of scrap metal wanted to take my brain!" Sam kicked at Scalpel again. Then he remembered who promised to tear the flesh from his bones that same day and mentally cursed himself for an idiot.

"Not today," Megatron purred. Sam got the message and stopped fighting. The Decepticon leader turned his attention to the medics. "Remember that he is mine," he warned darkly.

With Sam's grudging cooperation, the tests were over soon. Scalpel gave Sam a shot and Hook let him go. Sam got dressed as fast as he could. By the time he was covered, however, he could feel the drug affecting him. He found he was swaying and sat down. Soundwave came in. "Are you the All-Spark?" Megatron asked. The rest of the interrogation revolved around that question. Sam talked until the drug began to wane.

"So you claim you have no control over the All-Spark, that it uses you," Megatron concluded.

"Irony: a human hold such an honor," Soundwave said.

"Honor?" Sam said bitterly, as he stood up. He felt a little light-headed. "I call it a burden. I'm sterile; the sparklings are the only children I'll ever have, and I can't even see them. Off the base I could barely take a step without being guarded from both you guys and some idiotic humans who have more hair than brains. There was always some bot who thought he should have gotten the spark instead of the ones who did. I got kidnapped to provide someone with a spark, and then betrayed to you guys. Right now I'm living in a goldfish bowl waiting to see just what creative way I'm going to be killed when you try to take that _honor_ away from me. Gee, I'm so flattered. "

"I am more concerned that you will die before we find a way," Megatron told him, amused by his captive's outburst. "Who held you for the spark?"

Sam shrugged. "No idea," he admitted. "Someone who knew the steps to getting a spark and that the All-Spark accepted as a parent. Wanting one isn't enough, I know that. There are several bots who want a spark bad, and they've been bypassed." Mirage was the one who came first to mind. "I thought you would know. You said the information was accurate."

"I was provided with the information from an unknown source. Have you ever resisted the sparking?' Megatron asked.

"This last time, but not for long," Sam admitted. "But the power builds up over about fifteen to eighteen months down there. Here, something's pulling at the power, and it's not building."

"Qualify that," Megatron told him. Sam could only say he felt the pull. He could see his comment disturbed the Decepticon leader. Shortly after, Megatron returned Sam to his bubble. The supplies were inside, and included a broom and mop. Sam took the hint and cleaned up the bubble. Starscream appeared while he was working. Sam watched him, a suspicion growing.

"Are there any other Seekers?" he asked the jet. Starscream said he did not know, that there might be a few in space that had not reported in yet. He started to talk about Seekers, how they had a separate colony planet that was decimated with Cybertron. He talked about his trine mates, now gone.

Sam did not miss how Megatron and his supposed second in command did not get along. Starscream took a lot of abuse from Megatron, but he was competent with his own work. Sam was surprised to learn that Starscream was a scientist. Both Decepticons talked to him daily. Megatron did not question him again about the All-spark power once he was sure that Sam could not control it.

Starscream's interest was different. Over the next few weeks, he listened to how the power worked on Sam and through him, and talked about possibilities that intrigued Sam. "We all feel the power in you," he told the human, who was eating the soup he had just heated while Starscream sipped at energon. "I once thought to take Megatron's place," he admitted. "But I could not keep this mess of mechs in line, and then the Fallen took over. If you think Megatron is bad, the Fallen was worse."

Sam stopped eating to look at Starscream in disbelief. "Megatron flares out, and he hated. We all hated, when the Fallen was alive. He radiated hate, ever since he wanted this sun, and his brothers stopped him from activating the Sun Harvester because of the humans. He was a Prime, and he wanted all the other Primes dead so he could lead. Since he's been gone, none of us are as bad. It's as if we're all waking up from a bad dream."

"Where was I?" Sam asked, seeing a shadow across the door and deciding it might be wise to change the subject. Starscream told him it was Greenland, on the coast but to the north. "It's not green much. Where did it get its name?" Sam told him, thinking how useful it was to have an encyclopedia if information for recall at any time. That was one of the good things about this whole mess-instant and total recall.

About that time, Megatron appeared, with the traveling bubble. He shoved Starscream away, and told Sam to get in. "I think it's time you see what I plan for you," the Decepticon leader said. Sam went to the waste disposal first, and set his dishes to soak. "Follow us, Starscream."

They went out into a desolate landscape, and then into a cavern. Sam stared around him in shock. All around him were pods filled with metallic beings, of varying sizes. But that was nothing to what he felt. They were alive, and barely, just barely, were they aware. The feelings flaring through the room had him panting, fighting nausea.

They were in the cavern only moments, which was good, as otherwise Sam would have wasted his soup and annoyed the hell out of Megatron. He managed to contain the shock and swallow back his nausea as he looked at another 'Con that was purple. God, how tasteless, he thought, when he looked further up. The 'Con had only one eye. "Shockwave," Megatron said. "Show me your progress while you warm and get air in this room so you can study the human. "

Shockwave obeyed on both counts. His voice made Soundwave sound emotional, and Sam did not understand much of what he said. Starscream did, from the look on his face. At some point Megatron noticed the room was ready, and took Sam out of his cockpit, and then out of the bubble to place him on the big metal table.

The tests Shockwave did left Sam weak and trembling. Shockwave could measure the power coming through the human, he said. He tested Sam's tolerance for levels of power. Sam screamed several times. "Weak fleshling," Shockwave commented. Then he talked scientific, and Sam could not understand most of the concepts. At Megatron's order, Starscream put Sam in the bubble, placed him in his cockpit, and took him back to the rec room. He did not go through the cavern, for which Sam was grateful. Released into the home bubble, Sam staggered over to his bed and collapsed onto it.

When he woke, he cleaned himself and the suit he was wearing, to clear out the sweat smell. Then he started to pace. Megatron came in, and watched him circle the bubble. "How much did you understand of what Shockwave said?" he asked.

"None of it," Sam admitted. He understood most of the words but not the concepts. "That hurt," he added bitterly.

"He is looking for a way to pull the power from you, and waken the hatchlings," Megatron told him. "That was what we wanted the energon from Earth's sun for, to wake the hatchlings." He paused as Sam absorbed that. "The results from the medics tell us that you are not aging as most humans do. However, there is no way to pull the power from you at length without killing you. That would mean that the information and power of the All-Spark would go elsewhere, and we have no control over where it would go." Sam nodded.

"He thinks that there is a way," the Decepticon leader went on. "It will involve a change for you. " Sam's attention sharpened. "He had found a way to transform you into one of us; we can leach the power as the transformation takes place."

"No," Sam whispered. This was part of the answer to something, he was sure of it, but not for the purpose Megatron wanted. "No, not for that. That's not where the power needs to go."

"We need those hatchlings!" Megatron thundered. Starscream came into the room then, and Sam looked over. "You say that something is pulling power from you; we know now that they do, but it's not enough. To bring them out, we need more than you can give as a puny human. I'm not wasting any more time on Earth. Let Optimus have it. I want to go back to Cybertron and revive it, and to do that I need those hatchlings and that power."

"Shockwave plans to betray you, Master," Starscream said behind the Decepticon leader's back.

Megatron turned and knocked Starscream back against the wall. Sam took in a breath and Starscream shot him a pleading look. "Shockwave's more loyal than you ever were!" Megatron roared.

"He doesn't believe that the home planet can be revived," Starscream wailed, cringing. "He plans to use the hatchlings to take over Earth instead! He's going to kill you first."

"I don't believe you," Megatron growled, and pulled back a fist to start a beating.

"You always know best, don't you, LORD Megatron," Sam said from his bubble, and his voice was much louder than a human voice could usually manage. "That's why you drove your world into chaos, why you listened to the Fallen even though he kept you destroying and destroying. Why do you think the All-Spark went into a creature of flesh and blood? To hide the power. Look at what the Fallen drove you to do. He worshiped the Unmaker, and made you into his instrument. But that scientist is a worse monster than you, and if you look at what he wants, you'll see that."

The two huge Decepticons looked at Sam in absolute shock. They could feel power pouring through him. He stopped talking, and there was dead silence in the room. Sam slid to his knees, shook his head, and winced. "God, my head hurts," he whined then.

Megatron broke from his shock and stormed out. Starscream came over to the bubble and whispered, "What in the Pits was that!"

"I feel just the way I did when I touched the shard and got all that information," Sam said. He pushed himself up. "Starscream, the hatchlings. It won't work. They're never going to be sane."

"What?"

"They're not sane. The Fallen corrupted them. They're full of hate, and they'll never be sane if they're just brought back. They'll just attack anything that's close until they're killed. Maybe he could control them. Maybe Shockwave's figured out how. I can't leave them that way. I know the power can help them. I don't know what it will do, but it has to help them, it's driving me, just like it did with the glyphs. "He paced. "Why haven't you told Megatron about the spark? You're going to need help with it, you know that. And if Megatron keeps beating you up, you could lose it." Sam heard Ratchet's lectures to the newly sparked several times, and it included a warning to not fight unless cornered, for fear of losing the spark.

Starscream jolted. "How did you know?"

"I always do, you idiot! Think of there the thing comes from! You've got to tell them, you're taking a real risk here. " He watched fear and pain twist Starscream's face.

"I can't, not with Shockwave here. I'm afraid of what he would try to do to me or the sparkling. I want this little one so much-I'd do anything." Sam saw the same determination to protect in Starscream that he had in every newly sparked Autobot.

Sam stopped pacing and turned to face the frightened Seeker. "Good. Then this is what we're gong to do."

"This is insane," Starscream said for the umpteenth time, as he gathered the traveling bubble into his cockpit. Sam could tell he was terrified. Sam could not blame him; he was nearly frightened out of his mind himself. They went into the cavern. Sam went into a state of deep concentration. He could feel the power coming out of him this time, like electricity running over his skin. He had no idea what the power was doing. He just knew that the hatchlings would be better off.

The beings around him were full of pain and hate. They had never known anything else. He could feel the relief at the loss of pain, and then a sense of joy as the hate left with it and they could sense the contact. Then the being was gone and the next one was touched. He held on, keeping the flow going though he could feel the toll it was taking on him. It was more than worth it to know these sparkling were released from their pain. He could not see past getting this release done; he would deal with the problem of what to do next when this work was finished.

Starscream, watching, saw the eyes of each of the hatchlings glow. He could see the malevolence in them, watched as it changed to wonder, and then faded. It took a time for him to grasp what was happening.

"No," he cried out at first, but he remembered what Sam told him, and as he saw the rage/pain/hate in those optics over and over, he knew Sam was right. This was the only help he could give them. It was the only help that anyone could give them.

Just as the last set of optics faded, Starscream got a frantic communication from his leader. _**Starscream, get Sam and get out of here**__. _The crashes of a major fight started and approached the cavern.

Under orders now to do what he planned, Starscream transformed slowly, protecting the bubble and the now unconscious human in his cockpit, and took off for Earth.


	5. Chapter 5

Conceptions, Chapter Five

I do not own Transformers; I only play with the characters and wish I had.

Thanks to everyone who favorites and story alerts, but reviews encourage writers the most! Thanks to everyone who reviews, you keep me going.

Thanks to Blue Phoenix-Wolf, Berserker01, and Lady Thearah for the sparkling's names. I got so many good ones that I had a terrible time choosing which to use!

…..

Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave searched through the park, contacting each other as they searched so they would not cover the same area twice. There were other Decepticons searching other areas, but this park was Enigma's favorite and the most likely place for him to hide.

Enigma was developing very well, submitting to regular tutoring with Starscream and Elita. He excelled at history and similar studies. He needed more help with science and hard math, but he worked at the problems steadily. He was still small for a Cybertronian, having only gained a few feet more than his human height, but when he was in his alt mode, he outraced everyone including both Bumblebee and Arcee. Only Blurr could catch him, but Enigma used his smaller size to get into areas the larger bot could not.

The largest problem was one that blindsided all the Cybertronians. Enigma refueled only because he had to. He absorbed the energon as fast as he could. He stalled refueling as much as he could manage. More than once he came close to shutting down because of low fuel. The other thing he hated and avoided as much as possible were his checkups. He flatly refused to deal with Scalpel at all. He tolerated Ratchet; he would go to Hook only if Megatron took him.

But something had been building in Enigma lately. Being with more adults now that he was being tutored, his attitude toward refueling was noticed. Starscream and Elita both obtained different kinds of energon, trying to coax him into finding one he liked. The matter came to Hook's attention, and the perfectionist medic scolded Enigma about it.

Enigma let out a howl of grief and pain that shocked Hook and anyone within hearing range, at which time the transformed bot raced out of medbay and out of the compound, transformed, and took off. Elita and Starscream went after him, but he was out of sight before Elita could get anywhere close, and he went under cover as soon as he heard the jet.

Soundwave was 'listening' for Enigma's thoughts, but Enigma knew how to block the telepath. At that point they had two choices- wait for him to appear, or hunt for him. Megatron had no intention of giving the Autobots a reason to challenge his guardianship of Enigma, and the hunt started.

Starscream contacted Megatron. He saw the small form, curled into a ball of misery, near the fountain where Megatron took him to come online the first time. He called off the search, thanking his 'cons for helping and sending them home. He would find out what the problem was.

Enigma did not move as Megatron approached and settled on the bench with him. The Decepticon leader pulled the smaller bot against him, and Enigma accepted the change in position. They sat in silence for a time, listening to the fountain. Then Megatron asked what the problem was.

The response surprised him. "I miss being human," the smaller one said, and keened. Megatron was astounded. Why would anyone miss being an organic? They lived a vorn if that long, they sickened and died easily, and they were weak.

"I miss Earth. It's so different here. There's no plants, no trees or flowers or grass. No animals, no birds or dogs or cats. No breezes or sand or sunsets or even rain. There's no smell that's not a chemical smell. And I miss tasting. Nothing here has taste. Energon's just fuel. There's no sweet, no salt, no sour. No chocolate, no coffee, no oranges juice, no potato chips. "He lifted his face. "And things don't feel the same against armor as they do against skin. "He pressed his face against his mentor's side and keened again.

Megatron pulled the little one into his lap and held him like the parents held their sparklings, and the way the humans often held each other back on Earth. Enigma turned and wound his arms around his mentor's neck, clinging as Megatron wrapped arms around him. That seemed to calm the youngling's cries, though he was venting hard to cool his systems now. The mentor waited for the youngling to finish calming before he stated pointing out the advantages of his changing, but after a time Enigma was in recharge. Megatron carried him to the berth they shared and settled him.

….

None of the Autobots could believe it when they got the contact. Starscream was bringing Sam from the Decepticon base in space. Even over the communicator he sounded exhausted.

"Optimus, this has to be some kind of a trick!" Ironhide insisted. But Optimus called everyone in from the search anyway and told Starscream where to land. Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jolt were all there, with a human medical team from NEST ready in the background.

Starscream landed and opened his cockpit. They could see Sam in it, standing. Ratchet moved, calling the medical team to follow him. Ironhide was behind him, cannons ready. But Ratchet pulled Sam out of the cockpit without any trouble. The worn human said something to Ratchet that sent shock over that bot, before he handed Sam off to the human medics.

The jet transformed and reeled. He was weak enough that instead of threatening him, Ironhide helped Ratchet catch him. Optimus saw the human ambulance head off before following the trio to the med bay. Once Starscream was on a berth and his weapons were disabled, Ratchet threw them out of his med bay and locked the room down.

Optimus contacted the human infirmary. Sam was weak and dehydrated from the wild dash from space to Earth, but he wanted to talk to the Prime as soon as possible. The medics were firm. Sam needed to stay in the infirmary at least overnight, but Sam insisted on a short phone conversation.

"Starscream's sparked," he said. He had to repeat the words twice more before Optimus believed he was hearing right. He sounded worn and tired. "Megatron doesn't know yet. He has a revolt on his hands and just as we were about to sneak off, he told Starscream to get me and run. "

"To Earth?"

"Doubt he had that in mind, but Starscream was technically following orders so it means no one was following as far as we can tell. Starscream really pushed himself to get here. He was afraid I wouldn't have enough air." He snorted, a tired snort, but a snort, and Optimus knew he had his human friend back. "I impressed him. Surprises never cease. But there's more I can't say here."

"It can wait unless an attack is coming." Optimus was having enough trouble wrapping his mind around the bombshell Sam just handed him. Was the All-Spark that desperate or was Starscream truly a suitable parent?

Optimus had directed the search believing Sam was alive, but frantically worried about his sanity if either humans or Decepticons held him. They found the group who held Sam by the two pieces of technology that was Starscream's payment. One was an attachment to a weapon that helped sight a target, one that most of the Decepticon and Autobot soldiers used. The other was a set of nanotechnology that rendered radioactive debris harmless to humans. There were short, vicious coups in North Korea and Iran where the first was used, and shortly afterward the second was used in the factories where the nations were making weapons and killing the people in the vicinity with carelessly discarded nuclear waste.

But Sam was long gone from Greenland by that time, and there was plenty of evidence that Decepticons were there. Optimus could only thank Primus that whatever happened to Sam at the Decepticon base, he was at least still sane and in one piece. Anything else could be handled.

Ratchet contacted his Prime shortly after. "Starscream's sparked," the medic confirmed, stunned. "He'll need to stay here for a time. He exhausted himself getting Sam here, but he wants to talk to you."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." Starscream was fighting recharge when Optimus came in. He listened to the jet's news, given without snark or sarcasm. "Does Shockwave have a chance?"

"I don't know. I think most of his power base is in space. But both of them were counting on having the hatchlings, and without them, I don't know what they will do." Starscream said.

"Wait," Ratchet said. "You had a cavern full of hatchlings that sat up there in stasis and what happened to them?"

"The Fallen kept them going somehow," Starscream admitted. "They were in stasis, and a lot of them died." He told them what Sam said about the hatchlings. "I don't think he understands what happened to them," he told the two Autobots, who were trying to deal with the shocks. "He knows they were released from the pain, and the hate, but he doesn't know how. " He had his hand over part of his chest plates, where the spark inside him pulsed. The lack of arrogance in Starscream disturbed them as much as Starscream's information. "I don't know how Megatron or Shockwave will react. I don't know if they'll even know Sam was involved. No one saw us, I'm sure of it. "

"Thank you for telling me," Optimus said. Starscream was in deep recharge before the Prime left the room. A call to the infirmary confirmed that Sam was exhausted but otherwise unharmed and doing the same. He summoned his officers to a meeting to relay the news. There was a lot of speculation, but in the end the result was inevitable; they had to wait until Sam and Starscream were recovered enough to get more information, and see who won the Decepticon civil battle before they could plan.

Sam woke to see Rachel sitting by the bed. While he was catching his breath from her ferocious hug, the medical staff looked him over and pronounced him ready to leave the infirmary." You've lost weight, and you were badly dehydrated," the medic told him. "I want you to eat five or six small meals a day for at least a week, and I want your butt back here then. I've already e-mailed that to Optimus." Her eyes slid to Rachel and Dinah, who nodded.

"No problem," Sam said. He felt better already, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He had a cup of coffee in his hand and was sipping in appreciation. It was his third. "I'll eat anything fresh. I've had nothing but canned for about a month, and water."

Ratchet was waiting for him outside. "I've confirmed that Starscream's sparked," he told Sam. "This is going to be one tense meeting, with him there." Sam made an affirmation noise. Ratchet grilled him on his physical condition on the short drive to the meeting.

The meetings held with humans were always in a special conference room that had a balcony putting the humans at better lever to speak to the Cybertronians and be heard. It held a desk and an office chair for longer meetings. Sam stood, leaning against the desk. Starscream came in with a watchful Ironhide beside him. The jet sent Sam a look and Sam returned it.

Optimus opened the meeting. "About two months ago, Sam, you were taken after a meeting in Washington, DC. Please tell us what happened from there. "

Sam outlined his experience in Greenland. "It was handled completely by humans until I gave in to the need for a sparking," he said. "The next morning, I found the doors unlocked. I knew there were Cybertronians outside. The kidnapper told me I would be released to the 'proper guardian' when her boss had what he wanted." He looked at Starscream. "What I found was Starscream and Megatron."

Optimus questioned Starscream then. Starscream talked for some time, and Sam got a strong reminder of just how ruthless a Decepticon could be when he wanted something. He almost felt sorry for Watts. He got up from the desk and paced a little on the balcony, listening.

"We had make preparations to keep him, and Megatron was waiting on Shockwave to finish some research before we came for Sam. I knew it had something to do with the hatchlings, but I did not know more than that. Soundwave monitored for information on the human constantly. When the master said we were ready, I sent the mercs to get him. I told them what I needed through the internet and they did it all. When he _finally_ cooperated," and to Sam he added, "and it took you long enough," Sam's only response was a gesture that had all the Autobots snickering, "I contacted Megatron."

Optimus nodded and turned to Sam "Well, I lived in a upside-down version of a goldfish bowl bored silly most of the time I was there," Sam admitted, "but there were some interesting conversations. I met Soundwave. I gather he had no luck reading an organic mind. So instead they shot me up with a kind of truth drug and questioned me about the All-Spark connection. The bad news is, I told them pretty much anything they wanted to know. The other bad news is, they already knew just about everything except the All-Spark information relating directly to me. I told him that something was taking the power that normally builds into a spark."

"That hatchlings?" Optimus asked. Sam's face fell into a bland mask. Optimus knew that face; it was a sign of heavy stress for Sam. He looked at Starscream, who started to speak. Optimus held up his hand and Starscream said nothing.

"Yes," Sam said. "There were a lot of them. When Megatron carried me into the cavern, I came close to being sick. Most of them were already dead. The ones that were left were just a little bit aware, and all of them hurt, and all of them were eaten up with hate. I could feel it. It made me feel sick. Shockwave's lab was on the other side of the cavern. He did some tests. They weren't pleasant. He talked a lot. If you want details, talk to Starscream, because I didn't understand the techno-babble. "

"Most of us wouldn't," Ironhide assured him. Starscream shot him a superior look that only lasted until Ironhide glared back.

"Later, Megatron told me that they wanted the power of the All-Spark to revive the hatchlings and Cybertron, in that order. He said, and I quote, 'I'm not wasting any more time on Earth. Let Optimus have it. I want to go back to Cybertron and revive it, and to do that I need those hatchlings and that power.' At that point Starscream came in and things got a little exciting."

"I was going to inform Megatron about the spark until I found Shockwave was back." Starscream hesitated. "I've never liked Shockwave, that's no secret, but he's gotten worse."

"That's possible?" Ratchet muttered, and there was a rumble of agreement through the room.

'"He is." Starscream's voice was grim. "He saw how Megatron was concentrating on Sam and intent on returning to Cybertron if we could get the power from him. Shockwave doesn't want to do that; he wants to plunder Earth and build another empire with the resources here. He was planning to use the hatchlings for that. I was afraid for him to know I had a spark, afraid he would use it for his experiments. That's how bad. So I went to warn Megatron. He didn't believe me."

"Wonder why?" The interruption came this time from Ironhide. It got him a nasty look from both Optimus and Starscream.

"But when he started on a beating," Starscream paused. Then he played a hologram instead. Sam was as startled as everyone else, watching. He vaguely remembered trying to distract Megatron from beating Starscream, afraid the jet would lose the spark since Megatron was pretty pissed, but seeing himself was really weird.

When it ended, Starscream said, "I could feel the power running through him while he was talking. It stopped when Megatron left the room to investigate my claims."

Sam picked up the story again. "Since I saw the cavern, I felt the way I did when I touched the All-Spark shard. Obsessed, driven. I could not leave the hatchlings the way they were, _could _not. They were insane. If they were completely revived, they would only destroy until they died. It was all that was in them. I don't know the how or why, just that they were, and that the power in me could do something about it. So I got Starscream to take me there before we came here." He looked at Optimus, almost begging for understanding.

Optimus glanced at Starscream before he looked back to Sam. Ratchet was perfectly still, not letting his body language give him away. "Tell me what you did, Sam."

"While I was kidnapped, I was alone a lot," Sam said. "I learned how to go into a kind of meditation state. It helped me relax, but at the same time, I think something inside me changed. Whenever I did it at the Decepticon base, somebody would show up not long afterward. Megatron said something about my being soothing to be around."

He was puzzled when none of the Autobots questioned that, only nodded in agreement. He looked at Optimus, who only said, "Go on."

"I used it there, to keep from being sick, and the power just flowed. It would touch one of the hatchlings, and take away the pain, so they stopped hating, and for a moment they would be happy, before losing the contact. Then it went on to the next one. When it was over, I think I passed out. I woke up when we were in space."

He waited for the protests. He looked from one of them to the other. They looked back, and he knew he was missing something. "The power took away their pain, Sam," Optimus said gently "The pain and the hate were holding them in the state they were in. Without that, they were released, sent back to the Well to begin again. "

Sam, not understanding, looked over at Starscream, who had his hand over his chest where his growing spark was, and that was when he finally realized what happened when he released the hatchlings from their pain. Sam stumbled to the chair and sat heavily. Starscream said, "It was all you could do. All anyone could do. That's why I didn't try to stop you."

"They died?" Sam asked, looking from one bot to the next. He was worried that he gave the enemy of the Autobots a small army of strong soldiers, but this was worse- so few of them, and he killed a cavern full.

'Every medic knows that sometimes all you can do is let a patient go," Ratchet said, and his voice held old pain.

"But they never got a chance to live, to feel anything but hate and pain- I know life's not fair, but that's- that's wrong!" Sam swiped angrily at his face but could not stop his tears.

"Every soldier knows how you feel, Sam," Ironhide said, and for the first time, he sounded old and tired. "We saw so many die for no reason. At least you gave them some relief before they went to the Well."

Seeing Sam did not understand, Optimus said, "We all know that when the young die, they go back to the Well of Souls, and return to begin again. You gave them the chance at a new life, Sam. Like Starscream said, it was all you could do."

"You didn't choose," Starscream said, and his voice was full of conviction. "I felt that power running from you. They chose. When they no longer hurt, the hatchings chose. You only gave them a choice." The Autobots all looked at Starscream in disbelief. He looked back and in his normal sneer said, "What?"

Optimus sighed. He reached a hand out to Sam, who got in without protest. "Ironhide, take Starscream to the brig." Starscream protested shrilly. "No one will harm a being carrying a spark, Seeker, but we are not big enough fools to trust you completely. This is only until we can make better arrangements."

When they reached his office, Optimus offered the Matrix again. Sam considered the beautifully curved price of metal and started to put his hand out. Then he said, "No. It still isn't time." Optimus put the Matrix away. Sam wiped his face on his sleeve. "But I wanted to talk to you about something else. For one thing, Hook and Scalpel found out that I'm not aging as most humans do."

"Isn't that good news?" Optimus asked. It was certainly good news to him, knowing he would have one human friend that would not age as fast as the rest of humanity. Already Lennox and Epps were showing signs of age.

"Yeah, but that's not the point. Since I've been alone and not around humans, the power is coming through more easily. But Shockwave was looking for a way to pull the power through me, and he could not find a way to do that without killing me. That's not acceptable to Megatron. He said if I die there's no way of knowing where the power will go. He doesn't want that. Between that, and wanting to know more about how I could deal with the power in the first place, he kept me alive. "Sam hesitated. "But he ranted to me a lot, and while I know a lot of what he told me was twisted, I think he had some real grievances."

"He did, Sam," Optimus said. "No system is perfect, and the flaws were being ruthlessly exploited. But that system is dead. We would have to start again, and hope to not make those mistakes once more."

"Good. Also, Shockwave did find a way to try to transfer the power, one that Megatron wants to try. One of you can't hold the power; it killed Megatron, and it would kill any of you. That's why it came to me. Shockwave was going to leach the power out slowly, by transforming me into one of you."

"Never," Optimus said, and the harshness of his tone made Sam jump. "That is taking away what makes you a unique being." The idea upset him quite a bit.

"I'm not ready for that," Sam agreed. "To be honest, I have to say that I think I would end up dead anyway."

"That is very possible," Optimus said. "I have several scientists working on the same matter as Shockwave was. I had Perceptor come here to see you, but as you know that did not work out well. "Sam managed a smile at that memory. "However, if Ratchet can tell us enough to reproduce the tests, would you object? Ironhide or Sunstreaker could take the results to Perceptor and Wheeljack."

"If he'll manage to figure out a way for it not to hurt so much," Sam warned. Optimus accepted that and sent him back to his quarters to contact his parents and to rest.

It turned out that Starscream had the test information with him, along with the proof of Shockwave's intended coup, which was sent back to the space colony.

Sam's parents were overjoyed to hear from him, and shortly he went home to relieve their minds and to rest for a week. Rachel and Dinah had managed in his absence, with the information on his computers, and he went over what they had done in his absence. They had done a fine job. Sam also noticed that in his absence, the casual boyfriends were no longer casual; both women were dating seriously. Sam made it clear that they were still his friends, and left the matter to time while resuming his schedule.

Starscream was in a kind of protective custody; once the news got out that he had sparked most of the base inhabitants accepted his presence, if grudgingly. There was talk about taking the sparkling from him, which Ratchet stomped on immediately. Seekers were known to have strong bonds. That normally made them good caretakers, and it was possible that Starscream was the last of his kind.

Optimus reminded others of the Seekers who once fought under his command, now dead. "The All-Spark chose, and there is nothing more to say in the matter," he added. Mirage complained, and got sent to the space station. There was a common agreement that while the Autobots would provide protection, Starscream was not going to the space base to endanger the other sparklings and the growing colony.

Starscream worked on the data that he got from Shockwave, and with other information they had on the All-Spark. Optimus did not like his results, but conceded that the problem did not lie with Starscream, and allowed him opportunities to fly to keep him sane. The Prime was well aware that until he knew that Shockwave was dealt with, Starscream was not going anywhere. When the jet had done as much as he could with that information, Ratchet brought him components to make a sparkling protoform.

His guards noted that while he was not exactly Autobot material, he was getting easier to deal with. Sam visited often between meetings, continuing the conversations they had when he was in at the Decepticon base. There was a strong rumor going around the base that Sam was trying to reform him.

Sam was talking to Optimus when the message about the meteors came in.

"Australia, in the middle of the desert there," Optimus said, confirming the location. "Get word to clear the area." Team gathered, NEST mobilized, and both Sam and Starscream under heavy guard, they took off.

There were three furrows when they were dropped. Lennox's team went in first with Ironhide and Arcee. Almost as soon as they got there, there was an electromagnetic pulse and communication went dead. Optimus and the others dropped in dread. Arcee met them. "Prime, it's Shockwave, Megatron, and Soundwave."

"Our position?" That was the worst combination he could think of with Starscream out of the way.

"We haven't fired a shot. Megatron and Soundwave are fighting Shockwave with lots of crossfire. He's not going down easy. Lennox said to tell you that he's not giving them a reason to find a common target. "

Letting them fight each other and cleaning up the leftovers as needed, Optimus inferred. "Wise. Stay out of the way. I'm coming. Ratchet, with me."

It was one hell of a battle, but it ended with Shockwave deactivated and both Megatron and Soundwave still standing, if damaged. Optimus, Ironhide, and Arcee moved just into their vicinity, not firing but making it clear that they could. Ratchet was in the background with NEST.

Megatron snarled, but he did not fire. Soundwave covered his back and did not fire. Optimus began to speak in Cybertronian. Lennox said to Ratchet, "What's going on?"

"Optimus is offering a ceasefire," Ratchet said shortly. "Shut up." After a moment he transformed and headed to the battlefield, heading straight for Soundwave. The midnight blue tentacled Decepticon did look much the worst for wear. Lennox could see the medic working over Soundwave as Arcee turned and came back over.

"Megatron's agreed to the ceasefire," she said, and then snickered. "He got a shock when he found out Starscream was still alive and sparked. The deal is that Megatron will leave Earth and Ratchet will repair him and Soundwave enough to do it, and that they'll talk later. Megatron is insisting that Sam and Starscream be there during the talks."

"Looks like we might be out of a job," Epps murmured. Lennox did not look upset over that.

The ceasefire talks were set up through Soundwave in orbit. Megatron demanded that Sam return to the Decepticon base for the transformation. Optimus was stunned when Sam did not refuse to go, but instead said it was not time yet. Starscream agreed that Sam would know. Further to his shock, Megatron accepted that reality. Starscream agreed to go back when the spark was set into the protoform he made. He was very close to his time. He would work on the information that he had from Optimus and that Shockwave left behind, and share that information with the colony scientists. Optimus agreed to return the prisoners he had in stasis, and Megatron agreed to leave Earth alone, and manage trade through the neutrals on the colony, who would work with Sam.

Epps had a heart attack and was forced out of NEST active duty; he joined Sam as an aide when Dinah got married. Rachel remained as Sam's bodyguard, but settled into a steady relationship with a NEST soldier. Slowly, when the ceasefire held, NEST began to be reduced down to Lennox and his core team; there were still occasional problems with neutrals and rogues. Sam continued as the Autobot representative, as peaceful uses for their technology continued to be found. Wheeljack and several neutrals came down to help with the adjustments needed to make the technology work.

Sam did not feel the power build for more than two years after Starscream's Whirlwind arrived and the new family departed for space. He was there for that awakening, and he would cherish the memory forever. Ratchet was able to do the awakening for the first time.

Neutrals rotated regularly to the base now. Sam spent time with a lot of them, as they often brought Decepticon trade matters. There were two shrewd bargainers that returned frequently, and Sam enjoyed their company over a period of years. They followed Sam during a date, curious about what the humans were doing, and one somewhat wistfully wished for a sparkling.

They got the message from space a month later that he had sparked. He was not the only neutral who did. They no longer had to make sparkling protoforms, however; the neutrals bought them from Megatron, who had plenty to spare. Over the years, Sam got holographs from proud neutral caretakers. Wheeljack got a spark and Perceptor came to take his place, promising Sam that he had learned his lesson and any tests would be done through Ratchet. First Aid came down for a time to exchange supplies and parts with Ratchet, and left for space with a spark.

Holographs arrived and Sam made a collage of them in his office. There was Wheeljack with Overload, First Aid with Powersurge, Solorfusion, Atom, and Emission with proud neutral caretakers, and Starscream with Whirlwind.

For another decade, Sam still visited his parents twice a year and they came to see him about as often. Then Ron started having some health problems, and Sam persuaded them to come to the base, which had access to good health care.

Not long after, Mikaela dragged Judy to the doctor for a lump in her breast. The cancer had already spread to her liver and lungs; with new technology they could stop the cancer but could not repair the damage already done. Not a year later, Sam was standing over a hole in the graveyard, supporting his father while the coffin was being lowered. Three years later, Sam was watching a grave lowered into the plot next to hers, and thinking about how time was different between Cybertronians and humans.

Sam knew the Autobots now for roughly thirty years. That was most of the lifetime of his parents. For the Cybertronians, it was about a quarter of a year. Of course they could wait until Sam no longer had anyone who held him to Earth. The day after Ron Witwicky's funeral, Sam went to Optimus and said, "I think it's time to speak to the Matrix."


	6. Chapter 6

Conceptions Chapter Six

I do not own Transformers except in my daydreams.

The ladykae gave me the idea for starting the conversation with Mikaela. Thanks to CaNaRoFaN14 for the sparkling name.

Thanks to all of you who leave story alerts and favorites, but remember that reviews keep a writer going! Thanks to all you who review, I cherish your feedback.

The next day was a visit day with, of all the worst people that it could have been, Chromia. Megatron braced himself for a thinly veiled hint that maybe Enigma needed to be with mentors who better understood his needs. As he expected, she drew the youngling away at one point to speak to him, before he joined Sirius, Stainless, and Whirlwind in a game of tag.

Chromia came over. "Picky about his energon?" she asked. Megatron nodded, and she offered some anecdotes regarding some of the other sparklings with fueling problems. The relief of knowing he was not the only one with a feeding problem made him feel better.

It turned out there were several additives they could try to add taste. "Elita is old-fashioned about them," she added, "but the only problem she's got with Sirius is getting him enough! Both Hope and Pedigree have to be coaxed sometimes, and I've found the additives useful as treats for Stainless. "

Then she laughed. "It's about time you had some trouble with that youngling! He was too good. The rest of us wavered between being jealous and wondering just when he'd start giving you problems!" Megatron seized on the offer, and whether it was having an actual flavor to the energon or simply the fact that they were trying, the refueling problem resolved for the most part.

When Elita approached him about setting up a school for all sparklings and younglings, he detailed Starscream to work with the Autobots and neutrals on the details and agreed for Enigma to attend. So it was that not long afterward, Megatron found himself urging Enigma into a building, along with all the other sparklings and younglings, and leaving with slow steps, like all the other caretakers. Enigma did not have good memories of school. But here he knew all of the others, they knew him, and there were too few for much misbehavior to be missed.

He was the most mature, if not the oldest, and while he was not the leader- that was Sirius- he was the one the others came to for answers, and most of the time he had them, sometimes to the dismay of the caretakers. Screaming, whining, and pouting they could ignore. Quiet, reasoned arguments made it a lot harder to justify why Stainless could not get weapon's training or why Hope could not scan a more versatile alt mode. It made 'because I said so' sound very lame.

Bumblebee found Enigma telling the others stories and recognized adaptations to Earth fairy tales. In a rare moment alone, he teased the youngling about it, and that brought down the firewall Enigma put around those feelings. Bee contacted Hound to get Hope and let Megatron know that Bee would bring him home. For quite some time, the former scout and guardian just listened.

Megatron was waiting when Bumblebee dropped Enigma off. Enigma could see his mentor was upset, but Megatron sent him on to refuel and he went obediently. Managing to keep his voice down, Megatron demanded, "And what was that all about?"

"Enigma misses being human sometimes," Bumblebee said, keeping his voice even as well. "But he didn't want to complain to you because he was afraid of making you feel bad. " Instead of exploding, Megatron sighed.

"That day he ran away, he told me that," Megatron admitted. "But he was all right the next day. I thought he was past it."

"Just give it time," Bee advised. "Let him talk about it to us if that's easier. He remembers everything." The scout snorted. "And none of us know everything about raising our little sparks! If I didn't have the others, I don't know how many times I would have panicked! And don't think we didn't hear from Starscream a time or two, either!"

It seemed that the part of Enigma that was still Sam just needed to vent; the youngling was much more cheerful afterward. Megatron was more relaxed around the other caretakers after that. They accepted him as one of them now.

It was unnerving to the teachers when Enigma started coming up with information out of nowhere about the history of Cybertron. Meeting with Megatron on some routine administrative matters, Optimus commented on the matter. "The connection is still there," he said, and he sounded relieved.

"Yes," Megatron agreed. "But I'm still not letting him stay up late; he needs his recharge," and they both laughed.

…..

Mikaela came by to see Sam when she heard the news. When she came in, Sam was staring into space and something was smoking. "What's burning?" she asked. Sam yelped and raced for the oven. Reaching in, he jumped back, shaking his hand and cursing.

She grabbed a dishcloth and hauled the cookies out of the oven, turned on the kitchen fan, and opened the window. When most of the smoke cleared and they got the smoke alarms off, she asked, "Did the Matrix tell you to make cookies?" He stared at her, and then started to laugh, much harder than the mild joke deserved. She smiled, recognizing release when she saw it, and scrapped the burned pieces of would-be sweets into his trash receptacle. He ran water over the blister before finding some burn ointment.

"Try setting a timer next time," she advised as she washed the pan and set up another set of dough.

"I think I did," he admitted. "I was a little distracted."

She studied him. On the one hand, she had sympathy. She was never close to her parents. Despite living so far from his parents, he had web visits with them weekly, and visited them religiously twice a year; they met him twice a year for visits. When they got sick and Sam moved them to the base, Sam had no problem finding his parents help with the military community nearby.

The bots were terribly curious. They saw very few elderly humans since Sam took over most as their representative. They provided a great deal of entertainment for Ron and Judy. Of all the strange friendships that built up, Mirage's with Judy Witwicky was the oddest. The aristocrat came back to Earth as a courier and stayed for a year. He heard her plaint about not having grandchildren and asked Sam about it one afternoon.

He listened to Sam's explanation, and said, "So the price of the sparklings is that you'll have no children of your own? Harsh." Somehow that fact turned his attitude towards humans around. His aristocratic background helped him understand Judy's wish for a child to continue her line better than the other bots did, and he helped some of the others understand as well. There were no more snide comments about how human bred and how many of them there were.

When Sam started getting restless, Mirage and a newcomer named Beachcomber took his parents to the beach. While he found a date, Beachcomber walked with Ron and talked about plants, and Mirage talked to Judy about Cybertron. Shortly afterward Mirage went back to the space colony at his scheduled time. No one was surprised when word came back that he had sparked. The hologram of Mirage with his sparkling Static was on Judy Witwicky's bedside table when she died.

They also respected how Judy faced her inevitable death with courage, and understood when Ron deteriorated. They saw the loss of a loved one crumble bots before, and they were trying hard to give Sam some space.

That did not stop bots and humans alike from wanting to know why Sam came out of Optimus' office calm and collected and the 'Big Budda" came out looking royally pissed off, heading for the firing range so he could hit something. Sam answered questioners with an "Ask Optimus, I can't tell you, " until he got tired of that answer. Then it morphed to, "Optimus found out that someone sent Megatron the Evil Overlord list and he's afraid Megs will get ideas." Since most of the bots had to access the name on the internet, he had time to get away. He heard the laughter after he got away most of the time. Perceptor sent him a puzzled text asking where the list came from, which gave Sam a much needed smile. He sent the scientist to Jolt, who was a movie addict. As no one from Ratchet on down wanted to ask Optimus anything in that mood, speculation went wild and curiosity went unanswered.

"Is there some particular reason you're burning cookies?' she asked, as he got them both a drink from the refrigerator.

He put her drink on the table and asked, "I've never made cookies, and I just wanted to try it. You know, I need to learn to cook now that Dad's gone and I don't have his helpers to do it for me. Think I can find a woman to teach me?" He pulled a notebook over to him and wrote, "_Beachcomber is listening in. The bots are taking turns._" She did not ask how he knew; it was one of the things he could do, like understand Cybertronian.

"Better make it a couple or some girl is going to try to catch you that way." She wrote back, "T_he Matrix told you to make cookies_?"

"They all know better by now," he pointed out, and wrote, "_I wish it had. Do you think you can keep a secret for two days_?"

"Some never learn, some think they'll make a difference," she said, and wrote, "_Why two days_?"

"In their dreams, but it's now that they'll try," he snorted, and wrote back, "_I think it will take Optimus that long to get past it and get things moving. He got marching orders to head back to Cybertron. The Dynasty was waiting for certain things; part of it was Cybertron recovering some on its own, and part was the war ending."_

"Why now?" she asked out loud, in shock. The bots were leaving? Her mind raced as she considered the implications.

"Because my parents are gone, and I need something to cheer me up." It took her a moment to understand that he was keeping the cover conversation going. He wrote, "_Optimus thought they would help us find a way to bleed the power from me without killing me. That's what Percy and the other scientists have been looking for, with no luck. Instead, they told him they were waiting for my parents 'to come to the end of their natural lifespan.' They said that the current connection to the All-Spark needed to have no ties to Earth. I'm going too_."

"Will you be all right?" she asked. Taking the pad, she added, "_How can you go_?"

"I'll manage," he said, as the timer went off and they retrieved the cookies, this time neatly browned. Sam burned his hand again. Putting in another set, they sat down and Sam wrote, " _The All-Spark's been getting me ready a little at a time. I'm sure you've noticed._" Then he went to take care of his hand again.

She had. She had to dye her hair to hide the gray; she gained weight with the children so that while she was not fat, she no longer had the sleek figure she used to have. Others who worked with the bots a long time showed signs of age. Lennox was still with NEST, but did more administrative work than combat. Epps worked with Sam due to his heart attack.

But Sam still moved easily, and she was sure he did not resort to dyeing his hair. He kept the lean body of a young man. Now that Rachel and Dinah were settled, he would go to the local bars and other gathering places for the younger people and find a date without any trouble. There were days that Mikaela and others were jealous. She could tell that the first burn on his hand was not hurting anymore.

At the same time, everyone knew by now that Sam would never have a child, and that he only got some when the power from the All-Spark built up enough for a sparking. Most people on the base felt that they would prefer to age normally, have kids, and get laid a little more often than once every fifteen to eighteen months. She wrote, "_What about the Decepticons_?"

"_They'll follow. When Megatron had me before, he intended to take me back to Cybertron and release the power there, after he managed another stunt. Starscream and I ruined that part. I'm not sure he ever found out what happened to his plan, what with the rebellion with Soundwave happening at the same time. Part of what pissed Optimus off is that he was right. I'm willing to bet that he's been getting ready. So give me to the announcement, huh_?" Out loud he asked, "Does your hubby know where you are? And how are the kids?"

"I called him," she said. "We were going to call for pizza when I got home." Instead her family came over for pizza and cookies. It turned out that the real cook in the family was Mikaela's husband, and he offered to give Sam lessons in exchange for Sam providing dinner for the family one day a week. Sam agreed, and learned to cook simple tasty meals over the next few months.

When Mikaela saw him two days later, she managed to look at his hand. She could not tell where the burns had been.

In the meantime, Optimus accepted the inevitable and announced that they would be leaving within a year. Sam met with him the day before the announcement. "It will take about a year for us to make all the arrangements," the Prime said. "I have contacted Soundwave for a hologram meeting with Megatron."

"About time," was that worthy's grumble at the news, before there was a squeal and something slammed against him. He huffed and picked up a red-eyed, winged sparkling. "Say hello and go find Starscream, Whirlwind," he instructed.

"Hello and go find Starscream, Whirlwind," the sparkling said, and ran away when released, giggling, speeded up by a light swat.

Sam grinned. Optimus relaxed. The sparkling was obviously fine, if spoiled. Megatron went on, "We have our ship ready. We've been gathering supplies, but we will need more. Sam, when are you coming here?"

"Sam is not going with you," Optimus said firmly. Megatron argued that they already had the technology for keeping a human alive in space. He pointed out that despite the research of all the scientists including Starscream, no one had found an alternate to the method Shockwave developed for releasing the All-Spark energy. It was Decepticon technology and only Decepticons would use it, so Sam needed to return to them.

Sam gauged how soothing his presence was to the Cybertronians by this argument. He also figured that by this time, some of the other Decepticons besides Starscream wanted sparklings as well, Megatron included.

"The All-Spark had been changing Sam over the years we were here," Optimus said. "There is no reason to believe that he will not be able to deal with the transfer and return home. To take his humanity is no better than taking his freedom. We will find a way to manage the energy transfer. Perceptor and Wheeljack have made progress, as Starscream should have told you."

Megatron's expression told Sam that Starscream had discussed that research. From what Sam understood from Perceptor, the scientists were not all that happy with how that research was going. "Sam?" Megatron said.

"I have no intention of staying in an upside-down goldfish bowl for the trip to Cybertron," Sam told him. "The transfer has to wait until we get to Cybertron anyway, no matter how we do it. Work up what you need and what you have to trade for it, so I can get started," There was some more bickering, but eventually they signed off.

"You're back to two guards," Optimus told him. "I don't trust him not to seize you if he can. The cease-fire agreement did not include anything about you personally."

"Right," Sam said, resigned. "At least he doesn't want to kill me anymore."

When the meeting was over, he went to talk to Perceptor. The scientist tended to get focused in his labs sometimes, not leaving for days at a time, sometimes forgetting to refuel. Sam, Ratchet and Jolt took turns in checking on him. Sure enough, the scientist was muttering over something when Sam came in. "Percy!"

"My name is Perceptor," the bot said automatically, but he turned to see who was speaking to him. "Oh, good morning, Sam."

"It's late afternoon," Sam informed him. "When did you last get a refuel?" The scientist blinked at him, as Sam climbed to the top of the lab table. "If you have to think, you need one. Get one and come talk to me." Perceptor huffed, but he went over to the cabinet that stored the cubes of energon and got one. Sam told him what was going on, figuring he would get an honest reaction.

Perceptor lit up. "Home?" Then his face fell. "But how? To reactivate Cybertron we need the energy of the All-spark to go through you into the planet. The energy drain would kill you as you are. The muting chamber we're working on will help, but I don't know that it will be enough."

"I thought that was what you told me. You know Shockwave came up with another method. Would that one work?"

"Well, yes, it would, if the information Starscream gathered from Shockwave's records is correct. At the same time, that is a terrible risk for you, Sam. In theory, your human body would die, but your consciousness and the knowledge you hold would go into a protoform. You would wake as a youngling Cybertronian, with your memories intact. During the process, which takes some time, the energy would be able to go through you into the planet. "

Sam nodded. "Optimus doesn't like the idea. I don't much either."

"No," Perceptor said. "There is the risk that the transformation would not work. Or that it would work, but you would still die."

Trust Percy to be blunt, Sam thought. Out loud, he said, "I died back in Egypt all those years ago, and they brought me back so I could save Optimus. So the time I have now is a gift, and I'm willing to take that risk." He sighed. "I never asked for this power, you know?" he said with some irritation. "I saw a chance to stop Megatron and save my world and Optimus too. How the hell could I have know what I was getting into? " He walked over and pushed hard at the cube to remind the scientist to refuel.

Do you regret helping us?" Perceptor asked. He worked on his refuel after he asked.

"No," the human admitted. "If I had to do it all again, I would. I learned my lesson when Optimus died saving me. I could reject being involved with you, but the price was too high. The Dynasty told me then my destiny was mixed in with the Autobots, when they gave me my life back. "He watched Perceptor absorb the shining liquid.

"Which you have spent helping us keep your world protected from Decepticons and too much of our technology," Perceptor observed, and finished his refuel. "There is no owing here, only don't want to lose you. Being human is part of what Sam is, part of what makes you unique. That is why Optimus objects. I wish I could find a way to keep you human. We all do." Perceptor looked guilty. Sam was touched.

"Don't blame yourself. Maybe there's a reason for matters to work out this way. After all, Optimus came out of Egypt more powerful, and I came out sane. " Perceptor finished the energon and suddenly the cube was gone.

"One of these days I'll figure out how you do that," Sam said.

"If matters progress as we expect," Perceptor told him, "you certainly will."

Sam was relieved to learn that there were methods to cook and cool food within human needs on the ship. He went to the NEST supply sergeant to work out how much food he needed, and they worked out the food supplies. In fact, most of the supplies came through NEST. Then he went to NASA to figure out how much air they would need. In the supplies, Optimus insisted that they have enough to get Sam both there and home.

In the meantime, Sam was running as hard as he could to get supplies for the Cybertronians. There would still be matters left to handle when they left, and Epps was working to form a corporation that would absorb NEST and deal with the last of the technology transfers. At time there were still problems with rogues from both sides and the neutrals, which NEST dealt with.

Perceptor went back to the colony to work with Wheeljack. Joining him a few months later was Beachcomber, who promised Sam that he would see his sparkling when he came to the colony. Sam got the hologram not long before he left, of Beachcomber with Silverstreak.

About half of the rank and file were excited about going home, but a lot of them wondered if they were better off staying. Sam heard a lot of them wondering out loud if they were going home to start the war again.

He was on the beach taking a well earned break when Jolt came over with Arcee. His guards were the few that he did not mind interrupting him. They were on good terms after more than a year of working together. "Hey, Sam," Jolt asked as they watched the sun turn orange. "What happened when you were up there with the Cons? "

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. A breeze blew up and he breathed it in.

"Starscream is still a jerk but he wasn't the freaked out glitch he used to be," Arcee said. "Megatron can talk to Optimus without screaming. We have a truce with them. The ones that came down here and tried to stir up trouble said that Shockwave rebelled because Megatron refused to start attacking Earth again. What did you do?"

Sam made a face. "Part of it was that the Fallen was gone. " It was beginning to get dark now.

"Yeah?' He was gone for a long time and they still gave us hell. Then you get up there, and Starscream brings you back, and Megatron's setting up a truce after he kills Shockwave. So what did you do?"

Sam sighed. "You know what I did with Blue and Sunny?" He started to walk. Arcee found a perfect seashell and was looking for another.

"Yeah, but they were with you for years, especially Sunny! And Sunny wasn't nearly as bad as Megs and Starscream!" Arcee pointed out, and bent to pick up a seashell.

"No. But without the Fallen the Decepticons were beginning to lose some of the hate. That Pit-spawned ex-prime was half the problem. .Starscream told me once that when the Fallen died, it was like they were waking up from a bad dream. Then when Starscream wanted the sparkling, he had to stick around for a long time, waiting for me to be ready, and then for me to quote, cooperate, unquote. That got him started. Megatron," Sam stopped and stared out at the ocean, not really seeing it. "I think the Dynasty spoke to him through me. He was already getting better. He told me once I was soothing to be around, and he used to rant to me."

"You know we all like being around you. How would his ranting at you make him better?" Arcee asked. The next shell she picked up was flawed, and she threw it back in the ocean.

"He was ranting to me, not at me. I talked to Optimus about that, because some of what he said made a twisted kind of sense. What it sounded like was that at the start of the trouble, there was a group that was using the system to keep themselves rich and at the top, while most people were having trouble just getting by. Optimus was trying to change the system from within, and Megatron thought he wasn't getting anywhere and wasn't going to get anywhere."

Jolt and Arcee were quiet for a time taking steps to keep up with Sam as he walked. "Well, there was a lot of corruption," Jolt admitted.

"So when the Fallen got to Megatron, he used that. Used it so Megatron was convinced that whatever he did was justified. After a while he couldn't admit he was wrong, so he kept getting worse. When he started knocking Starscream around, I was afraid Screamer would lose the spark. I opened my mouth to tell Megatron about the spark, and I said something else entirely, real loud. Loud enough that it gave me a hell of a headache. He stopped hitting Starscream and left the room."

"Just left?" Arcee almost yelped.

Yeah. That was when I got Starscream to take me to the cavern and then come here with me. It's a real pain when the All-Spark or the Dynasty or whatever pushes me to do something like that, but I've noticed I always manage to find help, usually somebody no one would guess at. After all, would you trust the minor twins to help you if you had a choice?"

"No," Jolt admitted. SKids and Mudflap were sent to the space base as soon as it was established, where they could be more easily contained and taught. Arcee just looked at him for a time. "Guess not," Arcee managed to get out after a time. "I know that the worst of the Decepticons joined Shockwave, and got killed for their trouble."

"Cleaned house," Jolt said, slowly. "You know, maybe we can work things out with them. Maybe we can go home and start to rebuild."

It took a little longer than a year, but not much, before Sam was on the bridge of Skyfire's alt form, a shuttle, watching as Earth shrank into a blue and white streaked pebble and the moon was a small rock floating by it. He watched most of the solar system pass by from a screen on the Ark, joined off and on by friends he had not seen in years.

He tried hard not to brood over what would happen when they reached Cybertron.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I do not own Transformers, I only play with the characters and wish I did.

Thanks to youko-kan and blue phoenix-wolf for the sparkling names.

Thanks to everyone who adds this story to their alerts and favorites, but special thanks to those who review. All of them encourage a writer but reviews keep me going.

_When Cybertron was at its height, there were few dangers on it. The planet was mapped and monitored down to its core. The caretakers and explorers were much more concerned with infrastructure breaking down than any other threats. _

_But even back in the planet's glory years, before the corruption set in, there were threats that hid in the nooks and crannies. They were hunted to almost extinction, but there were yet some left when Cybertron ebbed. In the fighting, unexplained disappearances were common; the dark ones fed and thrived. When the planet was abandoned, the Cube thrown into space and the power was almost nothing, some died, but were strong enough to only go into stasis. _

_Then power began to build again, and they came awake, hungry, and needing more. But when they attacked the ones who were their prey, they found to their dismay that the prey was stronger and better fighters than before, and they were fought off. Some died. The others retreated, and learned. They had to seek weaker prey. _

_Then they found a place where several gathered who were weak, but had the power they needed. The strong ones were too close to the weak ones and the weak ones too far from the hiding place to dare to seize them. One was soaked in power, shining brightly enough to dim the other weak ones, and even the strong ones. That one would be such a feast as they almost never had even when the pickings were fat and challenge rare. They waited for the perfect time and place. _

_Then came the chance, when almost all the weak ones came with few strong ones, and the one soaked in power was with them. Even better, the gathering of prey was coming to the place where many of them gathered, and they gathered by the score, ready for a feast. _

Megatron and Starscream were working over schedules. The younglings were on a field trip to see the ruins of the Senate and get a history lesson on how government used to work in the old days. Elita quietly promised Starscream that the war would not be part of the lesson. Starscream agreed for Whirlwind to go with that promise.

Megatron hesitated. Enigma knew a great deal about the war, through Sam's memories; but he scared Elita and other instructors with information that came out of nowhere at times. The transformation from being human meant that he was mature in some ways and still very much a youngling in others; Megatron did not want his charge reliving the beginning of the war. At the same time, Enigma wanted to go, and in the end Megatron made him promise to tell one of the adults if he got upset.

The Decepticon leader and his second in command flew out to where the Constructicons were working, to see how the work was going. Normally Hoist and Grapple would be there, but they were helping with the field trip. Soundwave and Blaster were there, working out where the best areas would be for communication towers. When Megatron landed, they were discussing where the ground was supported enough. Optimus was due soon.

"There's a rumor going around that plasma snakes have been spotted," Scrapper observed. "Better not to wander off alone. They'll gang up on you if they can."

Starscream shuddered. He hated plasma snakes. "You'd think they die off with next to nothing to feed off." Plasma snakes hid in nooks and crannies of Cybertron's central machinery. They tended to attack those who were alone, cutting off the ability to communicate and sucking out the spark power. When they cooperated, the blanking field spread. Fortunately, they usually were easier to catch in groups.

"They got a chance to fatten up during the war," Scavenger commented, slyly enjoying Starscream's discomfort. Megatron redirected everyone's attention to the matter at hand. They had finally decided on a place for at least one tower when Starscream's head jerked up.

"Whirlwind!" He was suddenly gone, heading for his youngling so fast he nearly blew Soundwave down. He returned momentarily with a keening Whirlwind. "Watch him," he said, thrusting the youngling at Soundwave. "Get the word out- there's a ton of plasma snakes attacking the younglings at the old Senate ruins." He was gone as soon as he said it, Megatron right behind him in the air with most of the Constructions following in their alt forms, Long Haul carrying Blaster. Soundwave and Blaster blasted the word out while Soundwave hurried to get Whirlwind to the daycare where the youngest were cared for while caretakers worked.

When the Decepticon leader arrived, he witnessed a scene of chaos. The younglings were gathered together, the elders in an outer circle around the youngest. Enigma stood on the edge, his hands stretched over his head. Something shimmered over the younglings.

Hoist, Grapple, and Hound were spaced around the little ones, holding off the snakes that got past the other caretakers. There were so many snakes that the Decepticon leader felt the dampening field almost a mile off. No wonder they were desperate enough to send off the only flier even if he was a youngling; it was the only chance they had to call for help.

Bumblebee was down. First Aid, Chromia, and Elita faced the largest group of the predators, standing in an arc in front of the younglings and Bumblebee. They were about to be overwhelmed when Megatron and Starscream landed and began firing.

Even with the reinforcement of the fliers, the snakes were not discouraged and kept attacking until the Constructicons and Blaster arrived, followed shortly by the older Autobot twins. The Constructicons and the twins came at the snakes from the sides, drawing a lot of them away from the caretakers' stance. The swords of the twins whirled and chopped like sickles, and were by far the most effective weapon being used; the Constructicons did almost as much damage running over them in their alt modes. Megatron cursed himself for not using his tank but there was no room now and he landed to use his sword. Optimus, Ironhide, Mirage, Bluestreak, Beachcomber, Wheeljack and Hauler, the last neutral caretaker, appeared and took over from the exhausted field trip escorts, while Megatron and Starscream went to the air again and picked off stragglers who tried to run back to the holes.

As he circled to fire, Megatron caught glimpses of the younglings and original escorts for the field trip. First Aid and Wheeljack pulled Bumblebee back to work over him. Hope was kneeling by him and keening. Enigma pushed her away and leaned over Bumblebee, hands over his chest. Then he saw Bumblebee holding both younglings as the others tried to calm the rest.

When the last shot was fired, there was a stunned silence. Then chaos erupted again as younglings and caretakers alike began finding each other and clinging. Megatron landed and waited as younglings and caretakers ran past him. Then he saw Enigma standing unsteadily.

During the fight, he had been an adult and had been strong and calm. But while he might be an adult in many ways, he still had the body and the emotions of a youngling; when the danger was gone, he reverted to the age of his body and went running for the comfort and security of his caretaker, who knelt and caught him up as Enigma vented hard and tried not to keen, and failed.

He stood, holding his youngling close, and seeing around him others doing the same. Optimus supported Elita, who held Sirius; Sideswipe held Sunspot and Sunstreaker hovered over them; Ironhide held Stainless while Chromia leaned on him. Hoist, Grapple, and Hauler sat leaning against each other as they held their little ones in their laps. Starscream was gone to his own youngling. First Aid and Wheeljack sat by Bumblebee, with a youngling in each lap. The other younglings were safe at the daycare.

The Constructicons stood a little apart, watching and resting. Megatron walked over and thanked them personally. Optimus and Elita, with Sirius carried by Optimus, made their way over, and the other caretakers followed.

"You can be proud of your younglings," Elita said to Megatron. "Enigma- he got some kind of force shield up over the others. If he hadn't, the snakes would have gotten some of the little ones. And Whirlwind-"

"I saw Whirlwind," he said. "He got the word to us. Long Haul!" They piled the younglings, Blaster, and Bumblebee into the large dump truck and began the trip back. First Aid and Wheeljack approached Megatron as Long Haul headed out. Megatron waited to see what the medic would say; he was so tired that he dragged, so this must be important.

"Enigma," First Aid said, "saved Bumblebee's spark." He told how a group of the older younglings had gotten ahead, and they were involved in some kind of intense discussion. Bumblebee went to check on them, and managed to shove them out of the way just in time when several of the snakes slid out of one of the grated holes.

"The grate may as well not have been there," the ambulance said. "Bee shot one off, and another two got past him and went straight for Enigma and Stainless. Enigma got that shield up, and it knocked one back while Stainless shot the other. By that time the rest of us were there, and the kids all ran to where the younger ones were. Enigma got the shield up over all of them, not just himself. If he hadn't- we couldn't keep them all back-"

Wheeljack came over and took up the story as First Aid stopped. "Bumblebee got ambushed by a group of them- his spark was sputtering when I got to him. I thought he was going to go out any minute. Then Enigma came over and just put his hands over his spark chamber. And it steadied. "

First Aid had to steady his own voice. "So you might want Ratchet to check your youngling over. Or Hook, but don't ask Scalpel. Enigma still hates him."

"I am well aware of how Enigma feels about Scalpel." Enigma kicked Scalpel every chance he got, part of the proof that a great deal of Sam came over into Enigma. "I'll be sure someone sees him tonight."

Ratchet contacted Megatron as soon as the truck made it into the settlement. Megatron gave permission for Enigma to stay overnight in the infirmary. He checked Enigma there before he headed for home. Ratchet assured him that both Enigma and Bumblebee were fine, only worn out. Enigma was in deep recharge. Hope and Bumblebee were curled together on the hospital berth, just as deeply asleep.

His own berth was more than welcome. As he fell into recharge, it occurred to him that Autobots and Decepticons fought together for the first time that day.

…..

Sam expected the journey to Cybertron to be boring. He could not go to most of the ship; not only was air a problem, but he was small enough to be afraid of being stepped on without even being noticed. He knew he would be restricted to his apartment, one of the labs, or the med bay most of the time.

But a great deal of the ship's inhabitants came to him instead. Some came to the med bay to see the healers, and stopped to see him; sometimes he would talk to patients as a distraction while they were waiting or being worked on.

He forgot to factor in how determined Megatron could be about something he wanted, and he forgot about the only children he would ever have- the sparklings.

Megatron offered Optimus and Sam the only lure that would work to get visits. He bargained with the technology they already had, the suits and the bubbles and the chance for Sam to visit Whirlwind. Sam refused to go to the _Nemesis_ because he was certain that once there, he would never get back to the _Ark._ What Megatron did get was visits through the shuttles and through neutral ships, which were glad to act as go-betweens for a chance to host Sam for a time.

Sam actually enjoyed those visits. Not only were they a break in the routine, but watching Starscream be a parent was entertainment by itself. Whirlwind was a merry young sparkling and not as spoilt as he might have been, being the only sparking on the _Nemesis, _but he was at the stage where he was into everything.

Megatron's ego was more the size of the Alps instead of Mt. Everest now, and he had some entertaining stories about Optimus and some of the stunts they pulled on various politicians. Even better, when Sam returned, he would repeat them to Optimus, and Optimus could sometimes top them. Often the visits turned political; most of the policy for settling Cybertron was discussed through Sam.

The sparklings were his other source of entertainment, and he spent as much time as he could with them. Of course, that did entail the sparklings learning that Sam was not a pet. Bumblebee still cringed when he remembered how Hope batted Sam's bubble around like a ball the first time she saw it. Sam was still in it.

Chromia was equally mortified when Stainless carried Sam around tucked into his arm for more than an hour before an adult figured out where Sam's complains were coming from. The caregivers learned never to take their attention away for a second if Sam was around a sparkling at all, because the younger ones invariably picked him up and carried him around despite his laughing protests.

One time Pedigree held Sam a little too tight and cracked some ribs. Not only did he get a scolding from Hound, but Sam could not play with anyone for several days and he was clearly in pain. The sparklings learned better. Sam learned how to get their attention and make them stop if he was worried.

Sam tried to hide when the restlessness started, but Arcee and Jolt noticed. Sam almost cried in relief when Hound casually said he would be leaving Pedigree with Bumblebee for a third shift and would Sam like some company? Ratchet was in the rec room playing with Powersurge as First Aid watched, and complaining that when he had time for a sparkling, there would be no sparks.

Two weeks later, Sam waited until both Optimus and First Aid were in the infirmary as he said to Ratchet. "Ratchet, have you noticed you're rubbing at your chest a lot?" he asked casually. Ratchet gaped at him as Optimus stood by the door and First Aid pointed to a medical berth.

When First Aid confirmed the sparking, Sam solemnly said, "First, you need to remember that self- care is of the utmost importance," and proceeded to repeat Ratchet's well-worn lecture to the newly sparked as Optimus recorded and First Aid kept his head down over the tools so Ratchet wouldn't see him grinning.

"Don't worry, Ratch," the younger medic said when Sam finished. "I've actually got more experience at this than you do. You'll be fine."

Optimus played the video in the rec room to howls of laughter when Ratchet was hiding elsewhere. Grapple got it and played it for Megatron and Starscream on Sam's next visits, with Starscream crowing," Payback is such a bitch!" while Sam watched Megatron laugh out loud for the first time.

The caretakers were merciless in their constant advice and stories of what went right and wrong with them.

Some time later, those who were not caretakers hovered around Ratchet and his sparkling Nebula, sighing in envy. Years later, Silverbolt got the next spark, and soon after the rec room gathered around him and Solar.

There were no more on the trip. Most of the Cybertronians were from the colony, and many had emotional and mental wounds. As those needs were identified, the patients were quietly sent to Sam, and after the second sparking, Sam knew that the power was no longer building in him for a spark.

There was time for long talks with Bumblebee and Optimus, and sometimes the others. He listened in to a lot of talks about Cybertron, and debates about what kind of government could be established now, as they were beginning again, from the rank and file.

Sam carried those discussions to Megatron, who eventually accepted that he was never going to be the sole ruler of Cybertron. Optimus had his own sources. Starscream provided Sam with gossip from the rank and file of the Decepticons, which Sam in turn fed to Optimus. There was some wary acceptance that Megatron and Optimus would still be the leaders of their factions, while the neutrals would have to decide if they were going to have their own faction or join the others.

Sam encouraged the neutrals to find a way to establish their own voice. "You've gone through a war where you had no voice at all," he told them. "Do you really want that again? And if you don't what about your children?" What Sam really wanted from the neutrals was a moderating voice, one that could balance out the factions.

They did consider the matter, and to his shock they asked him to represent them. "You're the All-Spark," Hoist, one of the neutral caretakers, told him. "You've already got a connection to both of them."

"I'm the connection to the All-Spark," he corrected immediately. "And when we get to Cybertron and the power goes back to the planet? You know Optimus plans to send me home." Hoist and Grapple just looked at him, and he sighed. "All right, all right, just keep me informed." He did manage to introduce the neutral's concerns, and both Optimus and Megatron at least listened. So the years passed, and they approached Cybertron.

Ratchet noticed first that something was wrong. Sam was getting tired more quickly. He slept more. He was eating more but not gaining weight. Finally he brought Sam into the med-bay for a checkup. Sam let him finish, already knowing the results. The medic called the Prime.

"We're months from Cybertron," Optimus said, worried. Sam nodded, but there was no mistaking the facts; power was being pulled through Sam already. Perceptor set up the muting chamber in Sam's apartment, and Sam moved his bed into it. For several more months it was enough.

Starscream noticed his lethargy after a time, and pried the reason out of him. "And is Perceptor's device working?" Starscream asked.

"Some," Sam admitted. "If I sleep under it, I can manage for the rest of the day. I don't know how much longer that will last." Sam brought a set of large balls with him. He threw one from Whirlwind to chase, and turned tired eyes to Starscream. They were in one of the neutral ships. "Tell me more about how this technology of Shockwave's works."

Starscream talked while Whirlwind chased the balls and batted them with back and forth with Sam. Sam listened. Eventually he had to sit down; fortunately Whirlwind was tired as well and came over to plop down by Sam and have his helm rubbed. When the caregiver and sparkling left, Starscream told his leader of the conversation. Back on the _Ark_, Sam lay on his shielded bed, and went over all the alternatives.

"Perceptor?"

The scientist was working on the muting device while Sam watched from the couch. Perceptor was more and more concerned about Sam, and while he knew the device was working at maximum capacity, he and Wheeljack kept checking it in the hope that there was something they could do. "Yes, Sam? Do you need anything?"

"Just some honesty. I talked to Starscream about their process. This is what he told me." He went over what Starscream discussed with him. "How much of that can you tell me is accurate?"

Perceptor said nothing, and Sam waited. Then he fell asleep, and when he woke, Perceptor was gone. Assuming that Perceptor had just let him sleep, he went to his bed for more restful nap. Then he asked Wheeljack the same question, giving him the same information. Just as he finished, Ratchet came in with Nebula and Overload. Nebula was whining and Overload wanted Sam. After a time, Wheeljack left with the children as Ratchet fussed over Sam.

"So Optimus ordered you guys not to talk to me," the humans said to Ratchet. Ratchet professed to know nothing of the matter. He may as well have confirmed it. Sam sighed. Several days later, Sam got into his warm clothes with the helmet and oxygen mask attached and went to the viewscreen to look out at the stars for a time. It was a fair walk. Hope came by and sat with him, chattering about her day. Sam listened, and when she wanted to play one of the computer games that both humans and bots could use, he agreed.

Then he found he was too weak to get up, and asked Hope to carry him. She picked him up and walked to the med bay. He was asleep by the time she got there, lulled by the warmth of her plating and the rocking motion as she walked. He woke when they reached the med bay and Ratchet said, "There you are!" with relief.

"Hope's not supposed to carry!" yelped Sirius, who was there with several other sparklings. Optimus was there as well, telling a story to the gathered little ones.

"He asked!" Hope told him in a 'so there' tone. Ratchet shot Sam a worried look as he smiled and backed her up. The oldest youngling glowed with pride, and Sirius sulked. Ratchet moved the muting device out to the couch of Sam's apartment and set him on the couch. Sam was so tired that he simply lay where he was put, moving his head to look at Optimus. When the story ended, Ratchet herded the sparklings away, telling them that Sam was too tired to play. Optimus came over to Sam's apartment.

"When did you tell Perceptor and Wheeljack not to talk about Shockwave's device with me?" he asked. He did not ask why. Optimus made his position on that technology clear years ago.

Optimus did not answer for some time. Sam waited, wondering if the Prime would leave. Eventually Optimus admitted, "Before we left Cybertron."

"We're still a few months to Cybertron and already I'm being drained, "Sam told him. "Renewing Cybertron isn't enough, Prime. There has to be a way to channel the power so that there will be more sparklings." He pushed himself to a sitting position and listed to the side. "If I go to the planet without more than this," he indicated the muting chamber around him, "then I'll die."

"I'm sorry-" Optimus started sincerely. Behind him Perceptor and Wheeljack came in the door, sized up the situation, and stayed back.

"No, no, you don't understand. I knew that when I left Earth I'd never go home. I've known since I was in the Decepticon base that for Cybertron to live, the power would have to come through me and when it happened, it would kill me." He gave up the struggle and went flat again. "Do you know why it came into me?"

Startled at the change of subject, Optimus said, "No. Do you?"

"Remember the hologram Starscream showed you? Whatever it was said it was to hide the power. That was so it could build. Cybertron needed to be ready, your people needed to be ready, and Megatron needed to be ready. I needed to be ready. "

"It is a perversion of that power to make a human, a unique being, into a Cybertronian. " Optimus' voice was cold.

"Oh. It won't. Right, Perceptor?" Sam managed to push himself up again.

Optimus became aware of the audience behind him. Perceptor and Wheeljack looked like they would rather be anywhere else, but the scientist spoke up bravely. "Sam is correct. The process will involve the death of his human body, which is what is needed to funnel the power into the planet. As it dies, it will be replaced with a protoform, with Sam's memories in the processor, and a spark left behind as residue, making a sparkling, if the memory transfer does not work, and a youngling if it does."

Wheeljack added, "Shockwave was sure of his research up to there. He believed that the youngling would retain Sam's link with the All-Spark, and be able to either channel the energy for sparks, or find a way to do it. But that part was speculation."

"Then there is no way of knowing if this will work," Optimus said. "I see no overwhelming reason to allow it."

"We know that this isn't," Sam said bluntly, waving at the chamber. "It's delaying the inevitable. Sorry, Perceptor."

"We knew," Wheeljack said unhappily. The lights on his helm dimmed. "We've tried everything, but your organic body can only handle so much."

"A Cybertronian body would be dead already," Sam advised them. "It's the process of change that allows the transfer of power. I knew all those years back that I would do this."

"I will not allow this process. I will not consent to you doing this, and I will not allow any of my people to be involved in this matter." With that, Optimus turned and left the room. Sam sighed.

"Optimus can't do this. Even if you offered him the technology, he can't do it," Wheeljack said, walking up to Sam's apartment and adjusting the muting field. "We've got some ideas for adjustments. They'll help." Sam nodded.

Now that the inevitable confrontation was over, Sam dropped the matter with Optimus. Optimus stopped pretending and was open about his position. For the first time Sam saw the blind spot in Optimus, hidden by the war and necessity. Optimus honestly believed that all sentient being had a right to freedom. He fought with and for humans on their home planet and refused to side with any political groups.

He never believed that humans were equal, any more than Megatron had. Sam was connected to the All-Spark and was one of them, a cherished friend, but never, ever an equal. He believed that Sam would complete the transfer and either go home or be cared for through his natural lifespan.

Sam recognized that beneath the moral slogans, Optimus was offended by the idea that an organic would become Cybertronian- and he absolutely could not admit to that prejudice, especially as Megatron already had.

He wanted to stop the visits with the Decepticons, but Sam was firm; they made the agreement, and they would stick with it. Optimus did know that politically he had no choice. The next visit went on schedule. Perceptor quietly sent a copy of the muting field's schematics to Starscream, and Sam found a version of the device waiting on Hauler's ship.

Megatron was waiting with it. Sam dragged himself to the setup and could feel the relief as soon as he entered the field. Then he told Megatron about the confrontation. "Optimus can't do this," he finished.

"I never thought I would head you say that Optimus was wrong about anything," Megatron marveled sarcastically.

"You only got past it because you want your own younglings," Sam pointed out. "Some of it is his Prime programming, though not all. "

Megatron shrugged. "That does not change the matter. This is necessary." Sam could see he was enjoying having a moral one-up on Optimus for a change. "If the Prime cannot do this, then I will, despite being pointed out as the bad guy."

"No. You're being the Lord Protector," Sam said, and held his gaze. After a time, Megatron nodded. "The agreements we made will get us to Cybertron. As long as both you and Optimus keep to those agreements, I will. The power transfer must be done on Cybertron, but you need to have the equipment ready as soon as possible." Sam closed his eyes. He was negotiating his own death and resurrection, but it felt surreal. "Hauler, are you listening?" Hauler was, and soon he was here in person. "I need to know if you and the other neutrals will agree to help me out. Optimus won't let the Autobots deal with any of this, but he doesn't have that hold over you."

"Lay all of it out." Sam went over it, corrected at times by Megatron. "We'll get you there. You said that you'll be a sparkling or a youngling?" Sam nodded. "Better settle who's going to raise the kid, then, or you're going to have a hell of a fight on your hands. Just because Prime's prejudiced now, doesn't mean he won't claim the youngling when it's all over."

"What?" That blindsided Sam. He never considered that aspect of the transfer.

"You're going to be a youngling. Somebody's got to take guardianship." Hauler chuckled. "Never thought if that, did you? "

"I will," Megatron said. "My people have the right to get more sparklings, up to the same amount that the Autobots and the neutrals have. We all agreed that the first sparkling on Cybertron would be ours; you'll be mine. "

"I won't be a Decepticon. Once I'm on Cybertron, I'm neutral," Sam warned.

It took the entire visit to hammer out an agreement, which Hauler would circulate to the neutrals. He would worry about how to deal with Optimus when the time came.

He would deal with his own fear in the meantime.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

I am sorry this chapter took so long to get out; I had some family obligations. In addition, it is a transitional chapter and I had a hard time writing it.

Many thanks to those who favorite and story alert, but special thanks to those who review, you keep me writing.

I do not own Transformers, but I wish I did.

Megatron was not surprised to find that school was canceled for the next orn. Only knowing that his youngling would feel as safe with Bumblebee as with his mentor kept him in his own berth for a desperately needed recharge. As large as he was, he did not fit well on a normal medical berth.

Enigma was still asleep with Hope when he arrived at the Autobot medical infirmary. Ratchet was working over Bumblebee. Powersurge was holding on to First Aid's leg when he was not in the medic's arms. Nebula was playing in a blocked off section of the med bay.

"Come see me if you have any pain or trouble at all," he said, before greeting Megatron. "Aid, would you get Hope and Enigma? Let them refuel if they need to." Aid nodded and left. "Aid said he told you about Enigma helping Bumblebee," Ratchet said. The Decepticon leader nodded. "I'm very glad he saved you, Bee, but I want that information kept as quiet as possible."

"While I have no objection to that, I do not understand your concern." As he spoke, he saw Optimus come in. They moved to a larger room, to Megatron's relief; the med bay was crowded with the two of them. "Did that harm him in some manner?"

"He was drained enough that we woke him twice to check him and refuel, but that could have been the shield as well. Both he and Hope had flashback dreams, which is normal and understandable." Directly to Megatron he said, "For that, let him talk if he needs to, and I don't advise letting him recharge alone for a time."

"He doesn't. He's had a few episodes of walking in recharge. " Enigma recharged in the Decepticon leader's berth until recently, when he went into a berth that pulled out from under Megatron's. That was a common arrangement for caretakers even if the youngling did not have recharge problems; nightwalking was not common but it was not unheard of.

"Enigma's never said anything about the shield."

"My concern is more what might be expected of him if the word got out that he was able to steady Bee's spark. Some might take that as a sign that he can generate sparks the way he did as a human." Both leaders nodded slowly. "He's far too young even if his spark was up to that kind of effort, which I do not believe it is. "

"We need to plan on how to find out if there are more of those things," Optimus said grimly. "I got reports that they were seen, but to appear in such numbers!"

"They were after the sparklings," Bee said. "I have no idea why. I went down because I had to switch weapons and I couldn't get all the snakes that attacked me, but it was the younglings they wanted. Only Enigma's shield kept us from having casualties with the younglings, and none of the teachers or the other caregivers knew he could do anything like that. We would have told you. Whoever sent Whirlwind off did the right thing; we could not get through on our communicators, and we were about to be overwhelmed. "

"Sirius told Whirlwind to go," Hope said from the doorway. Enigma was behind her. The younglings went straight to their caretakers. Enigma had to go past Optimus to get to Megatron, and he circled the room as far away from the Prime as he could. "He said Whirlwind was the only way to get help."

"He was right," Optimus said. Megatron did not miss that Enigma was staying behind him and watching the Prime warily. He saw that Optimus did not miss Enigma's behavior. "Tell me what happened. The snakes attacked your group first, I hear. "

"We were looking at the holes," Hope said. She shared a look with Enigma. "We were wondering how far down they went. Stainless wanted to fire a shot down one."

"Did he?" Optimus asked. Megatron was alert. A shot in a nest might have drawn out the snakes.

"No," she said. "'Nigma told him that if he did, he would scare all the teachers, and Chromia would disable his weapon." Megatron glanced down at Enigma, who nodded in agreement. He also noted that Enigma relaxed just a little. So, they were discussing something else as well, something Enigma did not want the adults to know. He needed to have a long, serious discussion with his youngling.

"And?" Megatron prompted.

"We heard something bumping on the metal thing over the holes, and we all started moving back when three of them came out. Bee pushed us away and 'Nigma got his block up, and that knocked one back but it knocked 'Nigma down when it hit, too. Stainless shot the other one, but then lots of them started coming out of the holes. The teachers came and we all ran to where the littler ones were." She keened then. Bumblebee knelt to hold her.

"Enigma?" Megatron said. "Can you tell us more?"

"They kept coming," he said, his voice soft. "The teachers killed the first ones and the rest would suck up the dead one's energy and keep coming."

"One almost got me- it hit 'Nigma's block and I was afraid he would fall down again, but Hound shot it," Hope whimpered.

"Sirius said we had to get to help, that the teacher's coms weren't working. We had a hard time making room so Whirlwind could transform. We had to look for a good time to drop the block, and then I had to get it back up, and it was hard because I was tired."

"Why were you looking at the holes, Enigma?" Optimus Prime asked. To the surprise of everyone in the room, Enigma looked at the floor and refused to reply.

"Enigma," Megatron said, his voice a reproof.

"They're deep," he said, his voice low. "The power of the All-Spark went into the core. I could feel the power coming from them. I think that's why the snakes were there, because that's where the power's coming up."

"And?" Optimus prompted. Enigma refused to look at him. Megatron exchanged a look with the others, who were puzzled, and Optimus, who looked unhappy. Megatron prompted Enigma again.

"I'm not sure," Enigma finally admitted. "It's important, but I don't understand why."

With that, Megatron called a halt to the meeting. He had no idea why Enigma was afraid of Optimus, but he would have a better chance of finding out without a room full of people listening.

When they were home, Megatron marched his youngling to the firing range. "First off, you will show me this block, and if any other abilities appear, you will show them to me before you show them to your friends. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to surprise you," Enigma admitted, looking ashamed. "And the adults all look as me funny when I can do something different, so I practiced with Hope and Stainless and Pedigree."

Megatron sighed. "That was dangerous," he said. "Too many things can go wrong with a new talent like that. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Now tell me why you were so rude to Optimus." He made his voice stern. "I was embarrassed. Your manners are better than that."

When he saw Enigma's expression, he revised his belief that Enigma was afraid of Optimus.. "He didn't want me to exist," the youngling said, and his voice was full of rage, the more impressive because he was trying not to raise his voice. "He hurt me when I was tired and dying. I hate him."

…..

As they drew closer to Cybertron, Sam got weaker. He rarely left his apartment now. The caretakers still visited with the sparklings, but his interaction was limited to telling stories and watching them play. The younglings got to hold him in their laps when he told stories, and they loved having that privilege and fought over it until Sam set up turns and made them skip if they fussed.

Grapple and Hoist came to visit, and let Sam know that their fellow neutrals unanimously approved the agreement. While the neutrals often acted as the middle ground for the factions, they preferred dealing with Optimus, but in this they did not agree. "Your decision," was their judgment in the matter.

The changes Wheeljack and Perceptor made to the muting chamber helped, but Sam still had to plan his time out of it carefully, even within the apartment. More than once he collapsed when he misjudged his strength. Perceptor found him the last time, and got him to the chamber before calling Ratchet. After that incident Sam was resigned to being more closely monitored.

Not long afterward, Optimus called his scientists into a conference. "I've worked on this since I arrived at the colony," Perceptor said, miserable at his failure, "but there is nothing more I can find, or do." Wheeljack nodded, agreeing. "The chamber helps, but the closer we get to Cybertron, the worse Sam is. We can measure the power going through him, and it's increasing."

"I've arranged for Megatron, Starscream, and Whirlwind to visit here," Optimus said heavily. "I wanted to let you know, since the visit will be in the labs where Sam is now."

Optimus escorted the Decepticon leader, Starscream and Whirlwind to the lab himself. The presence of the Seeker sparkling kept the bots from becoming hostile as much or more than the presence of the Prime. Ratchet and Wheeljack were there with their sparklings. Whirlwind held on to Starscream's leg until Overload started throwing the balls for Nebula to chase. Whirlwind went after one, and soon he was running with the other two.

Sam watched. He made certain he had slept and eaten before the visit. Then he looked at the two leaders and asked, "When are you going to start on a truce?" They both looked at him, before looking at each other. Sam started by outlining the ceasefire, and eliminating the parts that addressed the Earth and humans. "Now," he said. "Let's start with basic needs."

By the time he tired out, there was agreement on what the issues were. Optimus returned after escorting Megatron off the _Ark_, and came back. Sam was lying down. "How long have you planned that?" the Prime asked.

"I didn't really plan it, but it made sense," he said. "I was wondering who there was do deal with it planetside, and it occurred to me that the only experienced negotiator either side has is me. So," he shrugged. "God and Primus knows all I can do now is mediate. Megatron won't try anything while he's on your ship, and you won't try anything when you have several sparklings around."

"I'm not going to change my stand on the transformation process," Optimus warned him. "I don't want you to die, Sam, please understand that. But you are human, with a unique heritage. For you to risk what is the equal of our spark for us is wrong." He was completely sincere.

"That's not how it works, Optimus. I'll leave behind my memories in a sparkling. The spark is left behind as the power comes through. That's all. The body will die, and my soul will go wherever souls go. "

As usual, Optimus listened patiently. He said something noncommittal, and he left. Sam sighed and reminded himself that a great deal of the problem was the Prime programming. Wheeljack explained that carefully. It had to do with protecting other sentient species, especially organic species. If they were weak or still in development, they needed to be protected. If they were not, they needed to be evaluated for threat.

If humanity had been judged strong enough to fight, Optimus would have taken the Cube and left the humans to deal with Megatron in whatever way they could. Sam had to admit that under the circumstances, he was glad that the Prime programming saw humans as needing protection. Unfortunately for his current situation, it meant that regardless of the realities of the situation, Optimus was not going to change.

That was why there were Lord Protectors.

The truce agreements were made down to the arrangements of how the landings would occur. Excitement and nerves were building everywhere. By now the situation with Sam was common knowledge. The bots without sparklings were beginning to murmur. They wanted to know that they would have a chance to have their own offspring.

Optimus expected the grumbling. He did notice that the truce talks did not touch on the matter, but stayed silent, not wanting to jinx the agreements until the matter was unavoidable. When he began to plan on how he would approach the matter of sparklings, he realized that the neutrals had not mentioned the matter at all.

He noticed that the three neutrals with sparklings often spoke to Sam, who would then present issues for them. That suited Megatron and Optimus. Finally deciding that he could no longer avoid the issue, he asked the three how the other neutrals stood on the matter. They looked at each other and simply refused to discuss the matter.

Optimus launched a quiet investigation. He was not happy about the results.

As usual, Megatron brought Starscream and Whirlwind. When Sam watched the Seeker sparkling, he had to admit that Starscream picked a perfect name for him. However, Ratchet and Wheeljack were holding their offspring, and led the Seeker and his youngling out. Sam knew what was coming, and when he cast a look at Megatron, he could see that the Decepticon leader thought the same. Unhappy as Sam knew the Prime had to be, the Autobot leader knew better than to begin with a confrontation. Instead, he said, "We haven't discussed how you're coming to the planet yet, Sam."

Instead of trying to avoid the issue, Sam said, "I have that worked out." He outlined the agreement between the Decepticons and the neutrals in its entirety.

"When did you intend to tell me?" Optimus asked. Sam could almost feel the anger thrumming from him.

"When you asked." Megatron smirked then. "Considering that you've refused to discuss the matter and blocked any of your people from helping, I saw no reason to bring the matter up. Instead, I went to the ones who were willing to so what was necessary. So no need to worry about violating your principles, Prime; the Decepticons are going to ensure that the Cybertronian race will survive."

"I'll do the dirty work," Megatron said, quite cheerfully. "The Decepticons are due the next eight sparklings or so anyway. It'll take a few vorns depending on if the sparking really comes out with Sam's memories the way Shockwave thought, or not, but I'll have the first one, as is only right."

"You expect me to agree to this?" Optimus said with a deadly calm.

"Am I a sentient being?" Sam asked. Optimus blinked and nodded warily. "And this is my death we're talking about here, am I correct? " Optimus nodded again. "What's the right of all sentient beings, Optimus?"

There was silence. Sam prayed that he was manipulating the Prime's codes the right way. Finally, in a calm voice that meant he was past anger and into rage, he said, "Freedom if the right of all sentient beings, but-"

"You've chosen not to help do what I have to do. I don't want my death wasted, so I went to the ones who were willing to help me. "The struggle in Optimus was visible. Finally he turned and walked out of the door.

"That went better than I expected," the Decepticon leader observed. "Why did you interrupt him? I was waiting for him to throw treason or something like that in your face."

"I never swore a loyalty oath for the Autobots," Sam sighed. "I officially worked for the United Nations. Besides, why did we need one? " He pushed himself out of the chair for a snack and a bathroom break. When Optimus was not back, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Do you have room for my stuff in your subspace? It might be better if I leave." He ached. He wanted desperately to cry, to mourn the loss of a friendship that meant a great deal to him.

"No need," said Elita, coming in the door. "Optimus authorized me to finish the arrangements. Behind her came the other caretakers and the sparklings, including Starscream and Whirlwind. Megatron's head tilted and Sam knew that he heard something on his communicator.

"All right," the Decepticon leader said, nodding at Elita. "Optimus agreed that you will bring the agreement to him to finalize, and once he agrees, all of us will swear on the All-Spark to follow it. You too, Sam. "

"All right," Sam said. The pain was not gone, but it was eased. He did not want to put his friends in a position where they had to choose between Sam and Optimus, but this was a compromise everyone could live with, and he blessed whoever came up with it. While Sam did not really understand how the relationships worked, he knew that Elita was to Optimus what Chromia was to Ironhide. He tended to think of them as married, though that was not really how the relationships worked. The rest of the caretakers and the sparklings left as Sam outlined the agreement again.

"The transformation will be done by my people and the sparkling from the transformation will be mine to raise. That is not subject to change," Megatron said.

"In exchange for seeing Sam safely to the planet and delivered to you for the transformation," she said, "we want some assurance that the sparkling will be raised as neutral." Megatron objected furiously, but Sam proposed visits with the Autobots on a regular basis. There was agreement that all factions would assist in working on what the transformed Sam needed to make sparklings, but Megatron would assist directly in helping the process as needed. The number of sparklings for Decepticons and neutrals, before the portioning became more even, was agreed on.

Sam won an agreement that when the one he transformed into was able to function of an adult, he would be able to make changes as needed. He pointed out that there was no way to predict how the sparks would be managed once the transformation was complete. Elita and Megatron gave grudgingly but they gave.

The caretakers wanted Sam to stay. Megatron wanted Sam to come with him. Sam considered. "Elita, I have to know that I will get down to the planet and that all of you will let me go," he said, his voice sounding exhausted beyond belief. "That means you have to let the neutrals take me down. Optimus may try to get around his oath."

Elita struggled. Sam could see her contacting someone. "All of us will make sure that Hoist and Grapple get you to Hauler and get you downside," she said. "We will personally see to it."

"No matter what condition I'm in," Sam said. "I might be in a coma, or out of my head." He pushed himself to a sitting position.

"We'll be sure you get there," she said firmly. "We owe you, Sam. If this is your dying wish, we will honor it."

He sighed and nodded before laying back. Then he swore by the All-Spark and his God. Megatron swore by Primus and the All-Spark. Elita left, coming back within an hour and played the video where Optimus made his oath. "Someone will be here in a moment to help you to bed, Sam. Megatron, I'll walk you, Starscream, and Whirlwind out."

Sam watched them go. When the door slid shut behind them, he tried to get up, and only fell off the chair. He pushed himself upright, and gauged how far to the muting chamber and his bed. He managed to make it.

Perceptor came in. Without waiting for Sam to ask, he turned up the heat and helped him bath and change out of the heavy clothes he wore and into something more comfortable. He found a nutrition shake and a bottle of water, and waited while Sam absorbed them.

Satisfied that Sam was as comfortable as possible, Perceptor told Sam what happened when Optimus left the lab. The scientist saw the caretakers in the hall and was about to speak with Ratchet when Optimus came out. "The caretakers were all there, with the sparklings," he said. "Starscream, too. He had to pass by all of them, Elita last. They were all talking on a private line. When he got to her, he took Sirius and told her to go in and do the arrangements for him, and he would swear to the agreement once he reviewed it."

Sam nodded. "He did, I saw the hologram from Elita," he said, and told Perceptor what happened in the lab. He was amazed when Sam related what he said to make Optimus leave.

"Primus in the Matrix," he hissed. "How did you know the one challenge that would hit his codes just right! No other argument would have worked. That and being challenged by the caretakers, with the proof of what you have done for us in their arms-no wonder he stormed off." The scientist left soon after.

Finally alone, Sam curled up and let his pain out. Now, facing death, when he needed all the support he could get, he lost a cherished friendship that had sustained him for most of his life. It hurt. He wept, so lost in his misery that he did not hear the door open. Then someone sat on the bed and drew Sam into her arms, giving him a shoulder to cry on. "Shh," said the hologram, and rocked him.

"I'm so scared," Sam said, sobs coming between the words. "I'm dying, I feel it every day, and I'm scared."

"I know," Hound murmured, in the soft feminine voice of his hologram. "You've been so brave, Sam. It's okay to be afraid."

"I have to do this. I have to. I don't want to. That sparklings' going to be so confused. My memories in one of your bodies. I don't want to leave him this burden. It'll be so hard on him."

"Then let one of us take him-"Sam shook his head.

"No. Megatron will take care of him, I really don't doubt that, but the youngling is going to need all of you. It's better if he's with the Decepticons because they don't know Sam. They won't expect him to be me. "Sam pushed back a little and looked at the hologram's troubled face. "Just-just be there for him if he needs it. Please. He-he won't be me, but my child. Think of it like that. He'll find the way to get the sparks; I know that, I know it the way I know I'm dying. Just-help him. "

"I swear it. We all do." He held Sam until the human fell asleep.

Before the ships made orbit, they had to find a way to provide him with extra oxygen so he could manage to breath at all. Even with that help, he wheezed constantly, before he got worse and they had to set up equipment to keep him breathing. Hoist and Grapple came for him; they took turned carrying Sam, who was encased in the bubble. As he feared, he was no longer aware of his surroundings. Bumblebee saw them to the shuttle and watched as it headed for the planet.

The caretakers and sparklings were almost the last to land. When the little ones were settled, Bumblebee sought out Hauler. "I watched when they put him in," he said, subdued. "He woke just before he went in and kicked Scalpel. Starscream made that little rat leave and helped Hook finish everything. I'll ask if you can see the place. No promises, though."

All around them the proof of the energy going into the planet was evident. Lights bloomed, where once there was only darkness; power flowed. The planet was coming back to life. To his surprise, Bumblebee got a message from Hoist that one person could visit. The other caretakers conferred, and agreed for Bumblebee to go. Grapple took him over.

The transformation chamber was not large; maybe twice as big as Sam. There were two sets of readings. One was for a human; the other was for a mech. Sam's heart was still beating. There was a faint registering on the mech sign. "Spark energy," Starscream said, holding Whirlwind. "The transformation is working."

Some time later, Optimus came to Bumblebee and told him that the human heartbeat was slowing. Megatron gave Bumblebee permission to visit if he wanted, but he had better hurry. He hurried.

When he got there, the monitor still showed beats, but slow ones. They came further and further apart. Then they stopped. Bumblebee felt grief seize him, and keened. His human friend was gone.

Megatron and Starscream said nothing, their optics intent on the other side of the chamber. On the other monitor, the spark energy readings strengthened, and became strong and steady.


	9. Chapter 9

Conceptions Chapter Nine

Thanks to all who have added this story to your story alerts and favorites, but reviews encourage a writer to keep writing.

I do not own Transformers except in my daydreams.

Vorns passed. The younglings became older and began to go into advanced training, which were individually tailored to the youngling, in addition to regular classes in the basics. Enigma occasionally helped Megatron with some of his paperwork and did other small administrative tasks.

"_You're not serious_." Megatron could not believe what he was hearing.

The contact was Hound, who was calling from the school. He was teaching a few classes. Most of the older children were coming home on their own, Enigma included. Sometimes they would linger to talk to friends before they headed out.

"_I'm very serious_," Hound said, but there was a lot of amusement in his communication. "_Enigma and Sirius got in a fight_." He asked Megatron to come for a discussion of the matter; Elita was already there.

"_How badly is Enigma hurt_?" Megatron wanted to know. He was not worried; someone would have intervened if there was any real damage. If Enigma was sore enough, Megatron might be able to talk him into upgrading to a weapon and getting trained in it. "_And who was at fault_?"

"_Actually, no one was hurt_," Hound sent cheerfully. "_Enigma found a new use for his 'block'._ So much for the idea of Enigma wanting a new weapon, Megatron thought with a little regret. Sirius was at least half again Enigma's size. _As for fault, Sirius has been getting an attitude lately, listening too much to some of the old Autobot soldiers_." He went on to say that Stainless had that problem, and Chromia dealt with both him and Ironhide pretty briskly when she got wind of it. "_We've been watching for a way to deal with the matter but he's been careful not to be overt about anything. Enigma took care of that for us, but we have to follow the rules and every fight means a caretaker conference."_

When he arrived at the school, he found Hound waiting to take him to the courtyard. Elita was waiting there with a sullen Sirius. Enigma was on the other side of the courtyard. He did not look upset or ruffled at all, even when Megatron frowned down at him.

"Now what is this about a fight?" he asked. He did not let the amusement get to his face. Elita was looking at Sirius and Enigma both with a stern expression.

Enigma shrugged. "Nobody got hurt," he said. "It wasn't much of a fight." Megatron had to agree. While the former Decepticons left were not the most aggressive, they still fought a lot for the hell of it, so Enigma was in a position to judge.

"You used your block on me," Sirius snarled, looking up. "That's being a bully!"

"You said that Hope and Pedigree shouldn't listen to me because all Decepticons are liars," Enigma fired back. "You told the younger ones that Whirlwind would hurt them if he could because Starscream was one of the ones who started the war. You told Stainless it was all right to threaten Atom and Emission and Solarfusion because their caretakers were cowards during the war and they wouldn't tell on him, and when they did, you lied to Chromia about saying it."

Elita looked close to exploding. "You can't prove that!" Sirius said, but he sounded panicky.

"Yes, I can," Enigma said coolly. At that point, Hound stepped up, and played a hologram of the incident.

Enigma stopped Sirius and confronted him. Sirius pushed him off with contempt. Then Sirius rose in the air about a foot, a shimmer around him. Enigma waited a moment, while Sirius struggled and the other younglings ran up. Then he challenged Sirius again, in front of the others. Feeling safer in the group, they agreed with Enigma. Sirius yelled to be let down. Enigma complied, which left Sirius in a heap on his aft as the others prudently scattered. Enigma started to walk away, when Sirius went after him. Enigma promptly shoved him against the nearest wall with his block.

Megatron approved the control his youngling was demonstrating with the ability. He and Enigma had several 'discussions' on getting Enigma armed. Enigma maintained that his 'block' was enough of a weapon and he did not need more. The Lord Protector occasionally considered setting one of his men on Enigma with orders to attack and see how well the youngling could defend himself, but decided to wait until something like this happened. Unfortunately for his wishes, Enigma's statement was the one that proved true. "I'd rather be my kind of bully than yours," Enigma said.

"Enough," Megatron told him, thinking that he was going to laugh out loud if Enigma did not stop. "I assume there is a punishment for fighting?"

"We tend to tailor them to the incident," Hound said, and he did sound sober now. "I believe that a few lessons in ethics might be in order for Sirius." Elita nodded. Sirius just looked rebellious.

"I didn't fight," he insisted rebelliously.

"You tried," Enigma said. "If I didn't have the block, you would have been fighting someone smaller and younger than you as well as lying and trying to make yourself better than everyone else." Sirius hissed, furious. Megatron turned to look out of the door to hide his expression.

Having seen all his friends conflicted or in trouble after Sirius' maneuvering, Enigma was enjoying not only solving the problem but having the moral high ground. In one strike, he exposed Sirius for the liar he was, set him up to betray himself in front of the teachers, who now had to punish him, and did it in a way that no one got hurt. At the same time, he had not been a tattler, a crime that the other younglings would have considered as bad as or worse than Sirius' mind games. Megatron had to admire his maneuvering.

"For your information, Sirius, you were acting like Optimus' brother," Megatron said, and now he let his amusement show. Elita shot him a sharp glance. Enigma gave him an odd look but he said nothing.

Optimus doesn't have a brother," Sirius said, puzzled.

"Ask him," Megatron advised, looking toward the door again.

Optimus appeared as he said it. Enigma slid behind Megatron as everyone else in the room started greeting and explaining. On the Prime's request, Hound played the hologram again. Sirius wilted as the Prime gave him a disappointed look and agreed to a few lessons in ethics. "Both of you," he said firmly, and looked over at Enigma.

"I don't need them," Enigma argued, and his voice was cold. He looked at Elita, Hound and Megatron, refusing to look in the Prime's direction.

"I don't see that Enigma needs them," Megatron said mildly. "Sirius wasn't the one being wronged; he, Whirlwind, and the other non-Autobot children were. And Stainless," he added fairly. "Considering how he defended himself at the end there, my youngling was showing restraint." A Decepticon would have cornered Sirius when he was alone and beaten him into scrap metal, he thought, and if he wasn't big enough to do it himself, he would have brought friends.

"We have to make it clear that using a weapon, even one for defense, is not the way to handle an argument," Elita pointed out. "Normally we'd disable the weapon."

"If we knew out how it works, that would be an option, but not even Ratchet could figure that out," Megatron said. Enigma looked down, and his mentor knew he was hiding a smirk.

"No, "Optimus insisted, "the punishment should be the same for both."

Megatron looked at Enigma and considered. It seemed like a mild enough punishment, and Enigma needed to get over this attitude he had toward the Prime anyway. After all, if he could learn to work with his worse enemy, Enigma could learn to be polite and listen to him for a few hours. He agreed.

Enigma snapped. "I don't need lessons in ethics from him," the youngling snarled, and for the first time he let his hate show where anyone could see it. The Autobots were floored. "With his ethics, I wouldn't exist. He left Sam alone when he was dying and needed him. I don't need to learn how to dump a friend!"

Megatron frowned. "Enigma!"

"I won't!" With that the outraged youngling transformed and took off. Megatron let him go. Enigma's way of dealing with that kind of anger was to be alone until it passed, at which time he would come home and either take his punishment or discuss the matter calmly.

"This one's yours, brother," he said. "Nothing I've said works." Several times Megatron talked to Enigma about his attitude towards the Prime. He reminded Enigma that someday he would have to work with the Prime. He pointed out that Sam would not have held a grudge. He said that Optimus was a good mech, though that came out hard. Enigma held on to his grudge.

"He remembers that?' Optimus asked, stunned.

"He remembers everything Sam ever knew," the Decepticon leader told the Prime. Elita and Hound nodded. "So it's up to you to talk to him. Good luck."

At this point Sirius said," Brother?" He looked from Optimus to Megatron. "He's," and he pointed to Megatron, "your brother?" and he looked at Optimus. They both nodded. Sirius keened, transformed, and bolted.

"Megatron, go after Sirius," Optimus said suddenly. "I'll go after Enigma. Maybe we can deal with some misconceptions here." He went out of the courtyard to transform. Megatron followed in his jet form.

Optimus contacted him after a long search. "Come to where I am as quietly as you can. They're in some of the old ruins, talking." Megatron transformed and met his irritating brother. Optimus motioned him to quiet. They could see the younglings in a ruined building. Enigma was sitting on a block, probably a support for the building, and Sirius was on his feet. "-you know after a while everyone would have figured out you were lying."

"What, do you think you know everything?" Sirius asked bitterly. Megatron could see that he was tiring. He was willing to bet that Sirius wouldn't be listening if he was not so tired he was ready to go into stasis. The Lord Protector knew the look well, considering how often Enigma got there when he was being so difficult about refueling.

"No. I don't know why you lied about me and Whirlwind, and the other kids. Whirlwind's big and clumsy sometimes, but he isn't really mean. Stainless would have left Atom and Emission and Solarfusion alone if you hadn't pushed him. I know he's still mad at you, and he's your friend."

Sirius crossed his arms and hunched. "Hope and Pedigree know I don't lie, and they know I can be wrong," Enigma went on remorselessly." Then a note of hurt came into his voice. "I didn't do anything to you."

"They ask you things," Sirius muttered. Then he shouted, "They all listen to you! If they have questions, they go to you first. If you tell them to do something, most of the time they do it. They should come to me. They should listen to me. Not you! You're a Decepticon."

"Actually Megatron promised the Autobots and Sam that I'd be neutral," Enigma said. Sirius squirmed and paced, kicking rocks in his way. Definitely running on dregs, Megatron decided. "Besides, there aren't supposed to be factions anymore."

"Like that's ever going to happen," Sirius sneered. "The Autobots are good and the Decepticons are evil. Everybody knows that!"

"Oh? I want to hear you say that to Elita or Starscream," Enigma observed. Sirius huffed and kicked at some of the walls. "And a lot of Decepticons who didn't have sparklings came to rescue us from the snakes, remember? All the old Autobots at the Senate ruins were caretakers, except Sunstreaker, but most of the old Decepticons still don't have sparklings."

"That shows they're evil!" Sirius said triumphantly. "They weren't good enough to be chosen for caretakers." Neither were a lot of Autobots, Megatron thought, but that stung.

"Starscream was one of the worst Decepticons once and he has Whirlwind," Enigma stated, "and Sam chose Megatron to be my caretaker. The neutral have three. More of the odl Decepticons don't have sparklings because the only time they were around Sam, the power didn't get a chance to build." They saw a look of fleeting sadness go over the calmer youngling's face, and Optimus sighed. Megatron remembered the sparklings that died, and felt a moment of sadness as well.

"But the Decepticons started the war! They killed most of the Senate! They killed a lot of innocent people!" Megatron made a face at Optimus, who just looked superior. There was no denying that fact, no matter how much he regretted what he did then.

"Yeah," Enigma agreed. "They did a lot of stupid things. But that was a long time ago. The ones left now aren't like that anymore. The really bad ones all died." The unreformed ones died, Megatron thought. "But the Autobots did some stupid things too or the war wouldn't have been so long." Megatron engraved the look on Optimus' face on his memory to play when he needed a laugh. It was priceless.

"They started it for no reason!" Megatron considered that Sirius needed more history lessons, preferably unbiased ones. Maybe Soundwave needed to get involved with the school.

"That's not true," Enigma said. "There were a lot of good reasons. If a lot of people hadn't been really unhappy, then the war wouldn't have happened. A lot of the Decepticons were poor and worked hard and couldn't get everything they needed, and they saw a lot of people with a lot more than what they needed. Those people, the aristocrats and the ones that wanted to be said they were better than the ones without anything, even though a lot of them never worked themselves or did anything except play."

The two leaders gave each other surprised looks. That was a simplistic way to word the Cybertronian social problems, but considering that Sirius had no real concept of rich or poor, it was pretty good. As of yet, there was no monetary system on Cybertron. Everyone was still assigned work through Optimus and Megatron, even the neutrals. Needs were worked out the same way.

"That's not true!" Sirius was getting upset. "Who told you that? Some of the grunts?" Megatron was certain that was where Enigma got his information. He liked listening to stories of the old days, which was part of the reason Megatron's men liked the youngling.

"I asked Mirage when I heard some of the old Decepticons talking. He was from a noble family. He said that what the Decepticons did was wrong, but that they had some reasons to be mad." Megatron twitched at that. The _last_ person he expected to be fair was Mirage. Optimus only nodded sadly.

"Mirage?" Sirius repeated. Mirage was an Autobot, and a teacher. Sirius respected him.

"Ask him. Besides, sometimes getting asked a lot of questions is a pain in the aft. Half the time I end up helping Hope and the others look up answers they could have gotten themselves. Why do you want them to ask you?"

"Because I'll be the leader later," Sirius said. Enigma asked him why, and it transpired that some of the Autobots told Sirius that being Elita's sparkling, he would be expected to take Optimus' place when the time came. "They need to start coming to me now, so I'll learn how to lead right."

"Optimus could have his own sparkling," Enigma pointed out. It was clear that Sirius had not considered that fact. "I haven't figured out how yet." He sighed. "I know it has to do with the core, but I can't get any further. Perceptor told me I'm not ready to get into that kind of research yet, I'm too young." His shoulders sagged.

"How do you know you'll have to do that?" Sirius taunted.

"I was made to do it," Enigma said, looking up. "I was made from Sam, and Sam was the channel to the All Spark."

"But he was human! How could he channel the All-Spark?" Sirius whined. He sat. He was tired and upset, and his world was being shaken.

"Sam killed Megatron using the Cube to overload his spark," Enigma said. His voice was thoughtful. "That meant that the All-Spark went into Sam instead, because Sam didn't have a spark to overload. He was the one the sparks came through, but he had to bring the power back to Cybertron. The only way to do it slow enough was to transform Sam's human body into me. I got his memories, and All-Spark left my spark in the transformed body and went into the core of the planet. But the other part of Sam had to go where humans go when they die."

Then Enigma sighed. "Sam knew I would find the way to make the sparks, but it won't be the way he did it. I just wish I knew how. It's hard when you know you have to do something and you don't know how." He looked into the distance, and in that moment, he was completely adult.

Sirius distanced himself after that calm statement. Megatron could see he was uncomfortable, and it came to him that the youngling was jealous of Enigma. Enigma was different, and strange, but he was special, and Sirius wanted to be special without being different. But he was also curious. "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't exist because of Optimus?" He sat down on another foundation stone.

"Optimus said that Sam shouldn't be transformed because he was human. He was like Sam's mentor. They worked together for most of Sam's life, and Sam loved him like humans love their caregivers, but when Sam had to set up the transform, Optimus wouldn't help him."

As he talked, he jumped up and paced, waving his arms, getting more upset by the moment. Sirius got out of his way, getting frightened. "Sam had to make him let it happen, and when he did, Optimus stopped being his friend. Sam was dying to make Cybertron come to life, and be sure there would be sparks, and Optimus dumped him as a friend when Sam needed him the most. I was Sam and I know it hurt him."

"Now I'm mad again." He switched to human language, shouting, "Damn it!" and following that with some cursing that made Megatron and Optimus both blink.

"_If you wanted proof that he has Sam's memories, I think you just got it_," Megatron sent to Optimus. In human languages, Sam could curse better than anyone they knew with the possible exception of Ratchet. Megatron heard him a few times when he was the Decepticon's unwilling guest.

But those old human words were not enough to relieve Enigma's rage. He transformed and took off again, tearing away at a speed that rivaled Blurr at his best. Sirius watched him go, frightened. Then he put his head in his hands and started to keen softly. The adults exchanged a look. Optimus backed away, circling to follow Enigma.

Megatron gave him time to get around the building. "There you are!" Megatron said, going into the building. "Have you seen Enigma?" Sirius nodded and pointed in the direction Enigma went. "Optimus went that way." He looked Sirius over. "Come on. Optimus and I agreed that whoever we found first we'd get home."

He had a long talk with Sirius on the way back, once Sirius realized that the big bad Decepticon leader was not going to rip him to pieces for lying about his youngling. He did not touch on the subjects that Enigma did. He talked instead about the past and the reasons that started him on the road to violence as a solution.

Elita and Ironhide met them about halfway, as Megatron contacted her when they started walking. Sirius was almost asleep on his feet. There was a brief mental communication; then Ironhide transformed and Sirius climbed in to ride the rest of the way back.

Megatron was back in his jet form and heading for the direction Optimus and Enigma had taken when he got the contact from Optimus. He could tell it was to a lot of others. "Do you know of any mech living in this quadrant of the ruins?" and gave the coordinates. It was far from the other settlements, and empty, as far as Megatron knew. He heard a lot of responses like his own testy one.

"_Then we have a problem_," Optimus sent grimly. "_Enigma was just taken underground by a group of mechs I've never seen, before I could reach him_, and now I can't find the entrance."

….

Enigma knew he was being stupid even as he drove himself away from Sirius. He was heading where he had never been without anyone knowing where he was going, but he did not want to go to his favorite park. Megatron would find him there, and he was too mad to accept a punishment or talk. He chose an empty ruin at random and stopped. Maybe when he was rested, he would be calmer and could go home. He sat in a corner where he could see anyone who came by and thought.

He felt so out of place sometimes. Sam's memories were odd. They were of Earth and the starship, where he had never been. Being a human was so different from being a mech. Some things were nice, like tasting and some of the ways that things felt against skin, unlike armor. Some of it was puzzling, like mating; he remembered that it felt good and that in humans it led to offspring, but as a mech it was weird. It was how the All-Spark used Sam to send out a spark, but that sure wasn't going to work for Enigma!

But in the way beings reacted, it was not too much different at all. Sirius was acting like Sam saw some government people do, but the human government people were a lot better at it than Sirius.

When he was younger he missed being human, being Sam. Then as he got older, he stopped. He was Enigma now, not Sam, not even in memory. At the same time, he could not forgive Optimus for what he did to Sam. If he turned his back on Sam when the human needed him most, then what would he do when Enigma needed him? The youngling knew on an instinctive level that he would need the Prime for a reason he could not grasp, but how could he trust someone who did that to a close friend?

Sam was dying, and he needed peace, so he forgave Optimus. The other caregivers were there for him instead. Enigma was going to need him soon, and how could the youngling trust him after that? The uncertainty nagged him. How could he tell anyone else how he felt when he didn't really understand it himself?

He was so deep in his own thoughts that the others were in the ruins, blocking his way out, before he saw them. He looked around him quickly. He did not know them. They were all bigger than he was, but not much bigger. The largest was smaller than Bumblebee. His thoughts whirled as he came to his feet. He knew almost everyone in the colony. He knew no one lived in this area, or he would not have come here. His block was up before he even thought about it.

They surrounded him in a semicircle, holding him in the corner, and he could tell they were contacting each other. He saw and felt them testing the block. They did not talk to him, but backed away a little, just outside his shield, and waited. He tried moving, pushing them out of the way with the block. They moved forward a little at a time, and he walked forward pulling the block around him. This was something he and Megatron practiced. Then he found he could not move the ones in front further, and someone testing the block around his back. He turned in a circle. They had let him move forward just enough to completely surround him.

They stared. He stared back. They were unkempt, dirty, and if there were fewer or he had not been going for hours, he would have tried harder to push through. As it was, he was tired, and there were a lot of them. He started to count them when they parted. He tensed, ready to rush through, when he saw they were letting someone else in. They backed away now.

The new one was clearly the leader. He knocked on the shield, testing it. Then Enigma felt something else, something in his head. The impulse to look at the leader was too strong; he did it before he thought. The next moment he was on his knees, with his shield gone, and no idea why. "So, a youngling," the stranger said, and his voice was hushed. Around him the others murmured, excited. "We've seen the others, the Autobots and the traitor Decepticons, but younglings- we never saw those. Come, young one. I can see we have a lot to discuss."

Enigma did not want to go. He wanted to struggle, to argue, and most especially to bolt. If he could get free, he could run, could get away…Instead, he was pulled to his feet and to an opening that he did not see until he was past it.


	10. Chapter 10

I do not own Transformers, I just wish I did.

Sorry for the short chapter, but the ending I wanted would not let me write it.

Thanks to those who favorite and story alert, but reviews keep writers going.

Conceptions Chapter Ten

Megatron got to Optimus as fast as he could manage it, landing beside the Prime as Starscream approached from the sky, reporting that Soundwave was on the way. Optimus said that Mirage and Hound, both experts in this kind of hiding, were on their way as well.

"Can you show me the mechs?" he asked. Optimus showed him a hologram. Megatron studied it. He glanced over at Starscream, who frowned and shook his head. "I don't know them. We'll ask Soundwave when he shows up. How did they get Enigma? What happened?" Optimus described what he saw.

"I saw nothing from the air," Starscream said, troubled. While Megatron could fly, Starscream was much better at spotting ground anomalies. "Could Shockwave have left these behind?"

"I thought we accounted for all of them," Megatron said, reviewing his files rapidly. All of them were searching for the entrance, and having no better luck than Optimus had. Just then, Soundwave, Mirage, and Hound appeared. The scout and the spy began looking for the entrance; Soundwave looked at the hologram.

"Confirm: identity : Annihilate. Leader of Unicron Cult."

"_What!"_ Megatron hissed. "I thought we destroyed that cult!" He turned to his brother, grim now, and hiding a deep fear. "Hound goes in only in hologram form," and he turned to the scout, "you pull it as soon as you feel the least little danger. Mirage does not go in, nor does anyone else with a sparkling bond. "

The former Autobots all looked at him with varying degrees of shock. "Annihilate: telepath. Insane. Uses bonds. Binds underlings to him by processor takeover. Stronger than me. "Soundwave informed them.

"He was what humans call a terrorist, and so unpredictable that not even the Fallen would use him," Megatron told them. "Before the war, he took down some of my best security, reached in their processors, and if they had a bond with a youngling, used the bond to pull the youngling to him. Sometimes he would bring a partner. Then he killed the caregiver, the partner if there was one, and raised the youngling in his service. My people had to fight the young of their friends. We had to kill everyone in the cult before their destruction stopped."

There had not been enough compensation to those families torn apart by the cult. Not long after that, Megatron became more and more disenchanted by the established government, seeing more and more abuses of power in the elite as they gained a stronger grip on the Senate. The Fallen found the Lord Protector not long afterward.

He thought, discarding all the potential caregivers and cursing because that limitation, until Soundwave came up with a list. None of the potential caretakers were on it; he was listing ones who would be the most resistant to Annihilate's ability. There were Autobots and neutrals on the list as well as Decepticons.

"Found it," Mirage said, his voice laced with excitement. He started to walk forward; tentacles whipped out and drew him back. Mirage yelped. "Danger to youngling," Soundwave warned. "Job done: go." The spy sputtered as the tentacles released him.

Megatron had to fight himself not to rush into the tunnel and fight every one of them. Several friends and partners did that, and it never worked. If the kidnapper or kidnappers managed to stop the rescuer, they would kill him in front of the youngling. If they could not stop the rescuer, they killed him. If they could not kill him, they killed the youngling even if the whole group died doing it.

Soundwave, who lead the force under Megatron that dug out and destroyed the cult, relayed that in a few short words to Mirage and the others. Optimus only nodded grimly; he remembered.

"He's right, Mirage. Go to Static and let the others know what's going on," Optimus told him. He looked at Soundwave and Megatron. "Will Hound's holoform be at the same risk?"

"No," they both said. "Danger to hologram: physical, not psychic," Soundwave went on.

"That and drones were how we got information before. The problem is that the group is sure to attack any stranger as an intruder. Get us as much information as you can," Megatron said. His optics burned. "I want my youngling back."

Enigma was strong for a youngling. He had all of Sam's memories, all of the human's ability to see through lies and manipulate events. But he was still a youngling facing a monster that played with processors the way sparklings played with toys.

Hound got comfortable. Then a bat appeared and fluttered through what looked like rock. They waited. Then Hound jerked awake. "Move!" he shouted, getting up and bolting. Battle reflexs kicked in at the sound of a rumble. Megatron was in the air, Starscream by him, when a long gap appeared in the ground near where all of them had been standing. Hound gave the ground-bound mechs just enough warning to avoid falling into a new pit in the ground.

"I got a tracer on Enigma," the scout said weakly, when they all joined him. "Pits, but that bastard is insane."

"So we have a tracer on Enigma. They don't know we're aware of their existence," Optimus summed up.

"Sunstreaker and his team have maps showing where they've hunted for the snakes," Hound added. "They've been using old maintenance maps showing underground passages. We can use those."

No one wanted to mention the bad news. It was already raging through Megatron's processor. The cult to the Unmaker had his youngling, somewhere in the bowels of Cybertron. They had to find him. And if Enigma was harmed in any way, they would pay. And pay. And pay.

….

The leader kept hold of Enigma's arm once they were through the invisible entrance. Enigma found he could not get his block up, or protest; he moved beside his captor in a daze. They were in some kind of tunnel, moving quickly.

Enigma refused to have another weapon other than his block built into his systems, but that did not get him out of battle training. Megatron and Razorclaw trained him in the various ways of using his block in self-defense and in some offense. One of the ways Megatron tried to convince him to take on a more conventional weapon was to show him what Soundwave could do. Instead, they all found that Enigma had a natural defense against the Cybertronian telepath. Soundwave could not get past his surface thoughts.

It took effort to get his processor to work at all. It was the end of his day. He had not refueled recently, he was been through several emotional roller coasters, and he had driven himself hard in an effort to calm down. Now he felt a presence in his mind that sat heavily on his will. Instead of trying to fight it, Enigma focused on how tired he was, how sore he was from the traveling he just did, and how he wished he could rest and refuel.

"Lord of Destruction, youngling," the leader said when the youngling stumbled, "am I going to have to carry you?" Enigma gave him the forlorn look that usually worked on non-caretakers. It got him an exasperated snort. "It's not much further." To what? Enigma wondered.

Just as the thought passed his processor, they came into a large cavern full of glittering lights. The leader turned and as though he had shouted at them, the others raced through. Enigma thought he saw a flash of black. The leader looked at him and then followed his gaze, but it was gone by that time. Then he thought he felt something brush against his shoulder seam on the right, away from the leader, but when he brushed against it he felt only dust.

He looked at the leader, who smiled down at him. "Wait," the leader said, and yanked Enigma against him so that the youngling faced what looked like a security video. Megatron, Optimus, and various others were there. Hope rose. They knew where he was! They would come after him. "Take a good look, young one," the leader said into his audio receptors. "This is your old life." Turning to speak to someone behind him, he said, "Blow it now."

There was no explosion; instead there was a rumbling noise, and rocks and dust rained down until the entrance was totally blocked. In the video, the rescuers were suddenly gone, with a crater where they had been. The cavern echoed with Enigma's outraged wail of grief. "Megatron! Optimus! No, no, no!" and his legs bent, unable to hold him. The leader let him fall and knelt beside him.

"So die all who oppose the Unmaker," he said, and forced Enigma to look at him. "You are mine now. I want answers." Just as he had with Soundwave, Enigma felt the presence in his mind. But the leader got nothing from Enigma but grief, exhaustion, and need. Standing, he pointed at the collapsed youngling at his feet and said, "Get him to a secure place. " His optics burned. "Our work is not done, as we thought."

Two mechs hauled him to a small cell and dumped him on some kind of padding. Blue lines appeared. He reached to touch and quickly drew his hands back. He had seen this kind of restraints in the brig at the Decepticon base when a few of the grunts had gone a little too far with their brawling. Touching them was not a good idea.

He curled up on the padding and keened softly. He could not think straight; he could not believe that any of them were dead. They had lived such long lives, lived through the war, how could an explosion like that kill them?

That thought penetrated his grief. He remembered what Megatron and Optimus had lived through in the wars, and suddenly his head cleared. Even if they were caught in that blast, they were probably not dead. They might be badly hurt, injured, but dead? Besides, others did know where his rescuers were.

He had to hang on to that thought. He knew beyond any doubt that Megatron would move the world to get him back, and so would the other caregivers. Even Optimus did not want to lose a youngling. Someone would come after him.

He could feel the warnings across his body that told him that he needed to refuel soon. Exhausted, he did the next best thing and fell gratefully into recharge.

He woke to the feeling of someone stroking his helm. He could smell energon. When he moved, he found he was being held in someone's lap. The blue light was gone, and for a time he wondered where he was. Then he remembered, and terror rushed through him.

"Shh," the leader murmured. "You need to refuel." Enigma tried to bring his block up, and found he could not.

He first used the block when Stainless got his first weapon. Stainless was waving it around, and when Enigma saw it pointed at him, he used the block to knock Stainless' arm down so the weapon fired on the ground and not at the group Enigma was standing in. Ratchet and Hook tried to figure out what made it work, and never did.

He could feel the leader's amusement. "Silly youngling," he said. "It's a psychic ability, like mine. Now, refuel before you slip into stasis." Enigma took the cube reluctantly. He did not trust this person, but trust or not, the leader was right. When the cube was gone, the leader said nothing for a while. Enigma almost fell back into recharge.

Then the questions started. What was his name? How old was he? How many other younglings were there, and how old? Who were the caregivers? How many mechs had returned? The questions went on and on. The leader would ask the question, and get the answer from Enigma's mind. Several times the questioner tried to probe deeper, but could not get past Enigma's natural defenses.

The one answer Enigma was able to avoid was how the younglings were sparked; when asked, Enigma wondered how he could know that. The leader expected that, and went on.

When the questions finally ended, the leader sat back against the wall again, absently stroking Enigma's helm. Enigma could feel that processor running. While he was alone in his head, he realized that this mech, stronger than Soundwave in his ability, could not get past his surface thoughts any more than Soundwave could.

"So, your mentor is the traitor Megatron," the leader said slowly. Traitor to what? Enigma wondered, baffled. "He was meant to complete the destruction here when he took control of the All-Spark," the leader answered. "He was to finish the destruction his war began. The Unmaker would wake, and go on to cleanse more of the galaxy." The leader snarled then into the darkness. "Instead he allowed the Prime to send it into space, and was lost himself looking for it. We could not finish the destruction. Now the power is in the core, and we cannot find a way to waken the Unmaker."

"You are too young," he went on, as Enigma began to whimper in fright, "to understand how deeply wicked and corrupt this world became. We need the cleansing, so all can begin again."

"But so few are left," Enigma protested.

The leader shook his head sadly. "We believed there would be no more young ones, that the race was ended. We lived only to find a way to end the planet, a glorious destruction to end everything with, and awaken Unicron again. Still, better that the young ones die before their corruption begins."

Suddenly, Enigma was thrown across the cell. Before he could recover, the blue lights were up again, and the leader was on the other side. "You would be a great asset," the leader said, regretfully, "but I do not have time to bring you to me. You are too strong. If I cannot destroy this planet, I must do the next best and cleanse it of those who infect it, so that it must begin again."

Enigma could see the decision in his stance, and the madness. "The traitor will look for you. While the unbelievers look for you, I will come up behind them. It will be over soon enough. I will not fail the Unmaker again. We will be worthy of the Unmaker when we join him."

…..

On the surface, the Lord Protector and the Prime discovered that the tracer would not work. They had to find the maps of the tunnels and go into them. To their surprise, the detectors beeped not far from the tunnels under the old Senate building.

"Enigma said that he could feel the power from the core in those old holes," Optimus said thoughtfully. "Sunstreaker, just how far did you explore these?" It turned out that the snake hunters had gone quite far, only to find some of the tunnels blocked. Underground, the blips from the tracer went in and out. Optimus led one party in the tunnels, and Megatron the other. Both were able to track the tracer, and had smaller bots that could get into smaller tunnels if needed. Neutrals helped guard the entrances and were to act as backup as well.

"I want my youngling back alive, and sane if possible," Megatron said intensely to the searchers. "Revenge comes after, fighting comes after. We get him back first."

….

Enigma was trained to use his block either as a defense, or as a pushing force. That did no good at all with the bars, no matter how hard he tried. He noticed that the bars were generated from the sides.

He slid his block around the right side and pushed the glowing force over. It was hard, and it hurt. But he managed to form a shield on one side that gave just enough room to let him through. Then the bars snapped back into place.

He moved slowly from room to room, keep his shield over him. It was the only reason he survived the traps that he did not see. He searched carefully for triggers, and still activated a few. Fortunately for him, the traps were set only for someone coming in, not someone going out, so the worse of the force was directed away from him and not at him.

He had no idea where he really was. He kept going; the further he was from that den of traps, the better he was. The tunnels he was in now were old. He was moving toward the center, toward the core, following a call he did not even understand he was hearing.

….

When the tracer started moving, they all stopped. "Look to see where he goes," Optimus commanded. "There's an intersecting tunnel near me," he told the other teams. "My team will go for him. We need to find the renegades. "

"This is too easy," Megatron said. "Be careful, Prime. They might be forcing him to lead you into a trap. Sunstreaker, where else do those tunnels go?" They looked. The results sent Megatron and the other teams racing, Megatron sending order frantically. Tunnels went directly under the settlement, under the school and the daycare.

Optimus could feel the pull but he knew what it was; he had to keep Enigma from getting to the source, or all their work would be in vain. Only a Prime could go there and remain sane. When he got closer, he motioned his team back and went forward alone.

…..

Enigma felt something tugging at him. It felt familiar, yet he was sure he had never felt it before. He followed it, keeping his shield up. He was approached an opening, and felt the power. Stopping, he took down his shield and basked in it. This, yes, this was familiar, and now he knew what had summoned him here.

This was where the sparks would come, with coaxing. All that time ago, he felt this power before the snakes came. There would need to be easier access, and a protocol, and he was not mature enough yet, but now he knew where to come. If he could find out what this used to be-there were murals, and other signs that this place was used long ago- then he could get clues about the process.

But the sparks would come here. He was certain, now.

"Enigma!" There was relief in that deep voice. Enigma turned to see Optimus Prime coming toward him. "Are you all right?"

Relief flowed over Enigma. He was safe! Then he remembered the leader's questions, and he was afraid again. Would Optimus think he was a traitor? He must not trust Enigma at all, he never wanted Enigma to exist even though Sam had to do it. But he had to warn them, or a lot of people would die.

"Prime! The people who took me, they're going to attack the settlement, the leader said they were going to try to kill everyone so they could be worthy of the Unmaker! I was supposed to be bait and they had the place they held me trapped all over the place!"

His vocal processors sent static for a moment, before he steadied, and said, "He got all the information he wanted from me, I couldn't stop it, he's a telepath, he just asked questions and got the answers from my processor. "

Optimus stopped him. Enigma could tell that he was contacting someone. "Megatron suspected something. He and Sunstreaker have found there are indeed tunnels under the settlements, and are tracing them now. Tell me everything he said."

It took a long time. Then Optimus said, "You did very well, Enigma." Relief flowed through the youngling. "Soundwave remembers the mech. He destroyed the processors of mechs far older than you getting information, long ago. We are very lucky that he had no time to 'bring you to him,' and that he did not think you knew more."

He stepped up to the door Enigma was looking into. Wonder rolled from him. "How did you find-no. We have no time, I must get back."

"We can come back," Enigma said. They started back, hurrying down the tunnel Optimus came from. "So he expected us to be hurt, he expected us to come after you, and he said this was a suicide mission," Optimus said, and Enigma heard the worry in his voice.

"How did you find me?" Enigma asked. Optimus was three times as big as he was, and in his bipedal form Enigma was having a hard time keeping up.

"Hound sent a hologram in and it put a tracer on you. He heard the leader talking and we were able to move out of the way of the explosion. So no one went to the base; we had not been looking long when you started moving. Tell me how you got out." Enigma told him.

They were quiet for a time. "Enigma," Optimus said abruptly, "I could not face Sam those last few weeks. He was human, and he sacrificed years from an already short lifespan for a world and a race that was not even his own. I wanted him to be able to go home and guide his own world, to bring them to our level but in their own way. When I finally knew better, I feared that his spark-equivalent, his soul, would not be able to travel to its destination."

"Why?" Enigma did not understand. "Isn't his God and our Primus really the same? They just come to us in ways we can understand."

Optimus was silent. "From the innocent come the simple truths," he said after a time. "I will discuss that with you at a better time. When did you obtain a Matrix, Enigma?"

Enigma stopped. Optimus turned and waited. "When did you know?" Enigma asked. He could hear the sound of his own plating shaking with his trembling, and he was getting warnings of overheating.

"Just now, when we were at the temple door," Optimus said. "I swear by Primus and the All-Spark I will tell no one else until you are ready, but I must know."

Enigma looked at the ground, as he ran air through his vents and calmed down.

"Sam was a matrix," he said at last. "That's what he became, when the All-Spark attached to him. That's why, when he earned the right to use the Matrix of Leadership, he was able to revive you. That's why he could start making the sparks. That's why the power had to go through him." He looked up.

Optimus looked like someone had hit him with a clue bat. Maybe, Enigma thought, I just did. But the moment broke when Optimus got another communication. "We need to hurry," Optimus said. "Megatron needs help."


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Transformers except in my daydreams. Last chapter, folks; enjoy. Thanks to Nessus for the sparkling names.

Thanks to those who favorite and story alert, but as hummergrey states, reviews are love.

Chapter Ten

Megatron was heading for the renegade's tunnels when he got the first message. The news that the renegade's base was a death trap was not much of a surprise. That they would abandon it told Megatron that they were desperate. Enigma was clear that he met no one coming out of their base.

Megatron pushed away the images of everything that might have gone wrong. Enigma was whole and sane. Now they just had to keep the settlement intact.

He had no idea how Annihilate intended to destroy the settlement, but he knew what at least one of the targets would be. He sent Sunstreaker to see that the school was evacuated to the most stable area the golden mech knew.

He contacted Soundwave to organize squads to each of the tunnels leading under the settlement, each squad to have a snake hunter with them, and for the neutrals at the tunnels openings to be replaced with squads.

He got the second message from Optimus, which was lengthy. He forwarded the grim warning that these people were on suicide missions with the intention of taking the settlement with them, and that the younglings were in the greatest danger.

He got a message back that Elita and Chromia were organizing a safe area for the younglings and the injured, as the place Sunstreaker found was near Ratchet's med bay. He was grateful for that foresight almost immediately.

The neutrals had not yet been replaced, and encountered mechs carrying explosives coming out of two of the opening. There were several short, nasty fights that left several neutrals badly injured and the tunnels collapsed. The tremors from that explosion shook the settlement.

Megatron sent Optimus word to get topside and organize there while he dealt with the tunnels. Soon after, he had his first encounter with the suicide squads. There were two of them, with a load of something.

As soon as they saw the squad, they dropped their loads and moved, not to run, but to fire at the explosives. Megatron saw that and went flat. The tunnel shook with the force. When he got up, there was an impressive hole below and above where the renegades had been. They could see pieces of renegade in the hole below them.

He sent the order get the renegades down before they could activate their explosives. "I don't care how you do it," he told the squads.

The hole was too wide to jump, too deep to climb into, and there was no way to work along the sides. Instead they had to circle through other tunnels. In the meantime, other squads reported in. It became clear that the fight would end only when all of the renegades were dead.

…

Enigma was glad to see the surface, where they could transform and move much faster. The younglings' camp was near Ratchet's med bay. Optimus made certain that Enigma was with Bumblebee before he left to talk to Ironhide and Elita, with instructions to get the youngling to the med bay.

Enigma went in and saw the neutrals that Ratchet repaired. "Primus, youngling, it's good to see you're all right," Chaffer said, the patches on his arm showing where he was hurt. "What happened?" At that moment, Ratchet appeared, First Aid behind him.

"You can tell us while I check you over," the medic said firmly. Enigma protested, but even the neutrals told him he needed to be checked, and Enigma reluctantly got on the berth. Enigma told an edited version, leaving out why he was out in the ruins alone. He got a chorus of how stupid that was, which he already knew and resented hearing.

But they fell silent and listened intently as he told what happened. He did not mention that he found the place for the sparks; that was between he and Optimus, and Megatron when the time came. "So he told you that the block was a psychic ability," Ratchet said slowly. "Like Soundwave's telepathy."

"Like his, too," Enigma said. "I couldn't fight him." He whimpered. He felt guilty about that, even though Optimus said it was all right.

"Thank Primus," First Aid said. "If you could, you'd be either permanently off-lined or insane." He met Ratchet's look. "I think an anti-virus scan and update would be a good idea." Enigma did not protest as he was plugged into the program. Ratchet said that his scan was fine.

Then everyone else in the med bay left, leaving Enigma to recharge while the program ran. The neutrals wanted to head for a refuel, while the medics had other patients. Soon after, Hope popped in. "Knew you'd be here," she crowed, and gestured behind her. Stainless, Pedigree, and Whirlwind came in. "Tell us what's going on!" Hope demanded.

"Where's Sirius?" Enigma asked, looking around.

"He's avoiding everybody since yesterday. What happened! We all know you're in on it!" Whirlwind was restless, as usual.

"I'm going to tell all the older ones first, down to Whirlwind. Get Boombox, Joy, Sunspot, and Sirius." They huffed, but left to fetch the others. When he had all of the older younglings around him, Enigma started talking.

"You mean they moved us from the school because someone is trying to kill us?" Joy whispered, her optics bright. "Why?" Normally she was one of the optimistic ones, always trying to see the bright side.

"They're glitched?" Whirlwind offered. Sirius, who was sitting against the wall pretending not to listen, got up and approached the others.

"Yep," Enigma said, completely serious. "He said we would be better off because we didn't have a chance to get corrupted. They thought they had already killed the race because there weren't anymore younglings, so they were just looking for a way to destroy the planet. They didn't care about the adults coming back. Now they know we're here, and that there's a way to renew the race, so instead they're going to try and kill everybody."

"Why did he tell you all this and leave?" Sirius asked, finally joining them. "Bragging?"

"He wanted me to think about what he was saying so he could get the thoughts from my processor, like Soundwave does," Enigma told him, and looked at the ground. "It was so-so-warped. " He wrapped his arms around his chest, remembering. "He got me to look at him, and I dropped my shield when I did, and then he kept hold of my arm so I couldn't get the shield up again. He made me watch the video, when he blew up the tunnel so Megatron and Optimus and the others couldn't follow. I thought they were dead! Then later, when he was talking to me, he held me in his lap and petted me, like I was his sparkling. He's really warped."

"Why didn't he kill you?' Sirius asked. The others gave him various stunned or hostile looks. "Well, if he's going to kill all of us, it's a good question!"

"I was bait," Enigma said. "He thought there would be a rescue and he set up the whole place as a death trap. If I hadn't gotten out and someone did come for me, all of us would have been killed. Megatron would have known if I was dead, so he had to leave me alive. I only got out because of my shield. I didn't even know I could use it like that, so he was sure I was trapped."

"So what do we do?" Stainless asked. "Our caregivers are here. They won't let us go out or anything."

"That would be stupid anyway," Sirius said. "We can't fight them. Enigma means that we need to make a plan so if they do come here, we can defend ourselves until the adults can come. " He looked over at Enigma, who nodded.

"All of you have a weapon. I've got the block. The leader's going to find out where we are, so we need to figure out how to stop him," Enigma said. "He's a telepath and he's insane. That's a bad combination. We need to think how to fight that."

…

The search went on.

All the tunnels had a squad at the opening, and one squad following it. It was slow going. Optimus kept track of which tunnels were clear from the surface. The teams had orders to bring any renegade found alive to the surface to be interrogated by Soundwave. All the information they had came from Enigma and Hound, and there was no way of knowing how many of the renegades there were.

But the renegades kept to their original pattern; if seen, they did not fight. In the tunnels, setting off the explosions was more effective than fighting. Four of the defenders were killed; two in a tunnel collapse, and two who were hit by shrapnel. Several more were injured. None of the renegades survived.

Then luck finally came in on their side. One of the squads crossed a group of three closely enough the group had no chance to set off the explosives. It took two squads to hold down the three renegades and temporarily off-line them. Taken to the Decepticon med bay, they were rebooted by Hook and Scalpel, after being restrained and searched.

Soundwave questioned them much as Annihilate did Enigma. Then the telepath broke the connection to their leader on the last one they questioned. The renegade went into deep stasis. The renegades were so strongly under Annihilate's sway that there was nothing left of their own personalities.

But the settlers knew now that there was a total of thirty renegades in addition to the leader. They had encountered eight groups, a total of twenty so far who were down. There were ten to go, and Annihilate. Soundwave told Megatron that the leader was on a 'special mission.' The renegades had no idea what it was.

But the ultimate goal of the last groups became obvious as they tracked them. Megatron ordered his men to stop past a certain area, as there were no openings past them. He was certain of their goal, and made sure no one was near it.

The ten renegades died in the explosion under the schools. Megatron counted the loss of the building a small one compared to the loss of more lives or threats to the younglings. There was only one threat left.

Where was Annihilate?

Then there was a distress call from Soundwave at the Decepticon med bay. Hook was attacked; his brothers and Soundwave came to his defense and rescued him, but not before the renegade leader got the information he wanted, and took the two followers still connected to him along.

…..

First Aid heard young voices and found Enigma surrounded by friends and talking. He looked over the scan, which was clean, and called Bumblebee to come get them.

"It seems you've stirred up a hornet's nest," the former scout said to Enigma. That got him the guilt reaction he expected, shoulders hunched and eyes to the ground. He sent the others on; they went with backward glances. Enigma glanced after them with longing. Of all the caretakers, Megatron included, Bumblebee knew how to make Enigma listen even as he cringed.

"The cult was already there, and someone would have found it sooner or later," Bumblebee went on. "But you knew better than to run off that far alone." Enigma nodded. A finger went under his chin, making him look up.

"I know you're very mature for your age, and why," the former scout went on, "but even the adults tell someone where they're going. We were all frightened for you." He paused. "You know how important all of the younglings are, and you're our youngest." Enigma felt like scrap metal. "I want you to promise me that you won't do this again," Bumblebee went on relentlessly. Enigma promised, and Bumblebee let him go.

Everyone was assigned chores, Enigma with them, but he managed to find Solar for the easiest part of the plan. "Tell any caregiver if you see a stranger to you," he instructed. "If you can't find a caregiver, find Hope or Sirius." Solar nodded. The Autobot younglings were to go to Hope or Sirius, and the neutrals to Enigma or Whirlwind.

The day dragged on. They were called to refuel, and finally to set up to recharge. The caregivers took turns staying with the younglings. When Enigma jerked up the third time with a flashback dream, Blaster had Enigma recharge next to him. Enigma protested but once he powered down for recharge again, he stayed down until everyone woke the next day.

But the word was circling around that the renegades were being found a few at a time. The caregivers were careful, but little audios picked up information anyway. "They're all dying before they're caught," Boombox whispered to Sirius and Enigma. Enigma shivered.

Word came that the camp would be broken soon. Finished with his chores but too restless to be still, Enigma found a datapad and wandered off to a quiet corner near the med bay. He used the datapad to draw some of the murals he saw at the temple.

He was about to research the pictures when he heard a commotion and saw Scrapper and Long Haul bringing Hook in. They had Hook down and were taking him into the med bay when he started fighting them. Enigma, who had come over to talk, scrambled to get out of the way."

Screams and shouts broke out of the other end of the camp. He started to run in that direction, and almost ran into the leader.

He jumped back just in time, and put his block between them. He refused to look at the leader's face, focusing instead on his torso. "So, youngling, I had the answer to my plans in my hand and I left it behind," the telepath drawled. Enigma looked in all directions, and saw no one.

Then his mind was full of sharp pain, and with it, a compulsion to drop his block and go with the leader. That compulsion had worked on most of the adults Annihilate overcame, and he expected it to work here.

Enigma screamed, and screamed again, but the shield did not go down. Annihilate struck the invisible force between them. Enigma stumbled back, and the shield dropped as he shrieked again.

Then he was moving through the air in Whirlwind's grip. They made it to the roof of the med bay building. Enigma could hear fighting in the med bay. The telepath must have gotten to Hook. They wouldn't get help from Ratchet and the others in there.

The two younglings on the roof vented air to cool overworked systems, and looked down. Sirius, Hope, and Joy were on one side, with Pedigree, Sunspot, and Stainless on the other. All of them had some kind of ranged weapon, and they were taking turns using them, keeping the telepath from focusing.

Enigma felt the pain subside as the six younglings stuck to a pattern that Stainless worked out, and they did not hit each other. Enough shots hit that the leader was constantly distracted, though their weapons were not powerful enough to take him down.

Whirlwind said," The caregivers are all fighting snakes on the other side. They told us to get out of the way and that's why we heard you scream! "Then he left to find more adult help. Enigma helped the other younglings with his block.

The plan worked until the last two renegades showed up. One tried to grab Hope, and Enigma knocked it back with the block long enough for the other two to start fighting with her. The other group saw their renegade before it attacked, and turned their fire on him.

Annihilate found the processor he was looking for. Enigma howled as the assault began again. The compulsion to surrender to the leader was incredibly strong, and when Enigma resisted, the pain increased.

The leader's plans leaked through the compulsion. If he had Enigma, the Prime and Lord Protector could not attack him. He would take Enigma to the temple, and be able to finish his plans there, where the core resided. He had tried to get in before, but was forced back. He knew Enigma had gotten in when he saw the murals in his processor. "Come, little Prime," he crooned, and pushed harder.

"No," Enigma moaned, but he was a youngling against an ancient and wily foe who battled other Primes in his time. The pain increased, until he could not process at all.

…

Megatron got word to Optimus about the attack on Hook; the Prime assured him that the hunt would begin. Megatron worked on getting one last sweep of the tunnels before heading for the surface.

He contacted Optimus again, but there was no sign of Annihilate or the renegades. Long Haul and Scrapper had just gotten Hook in and there was some kind of problem. Not long afterward, Megatron got another contact.

"Snakes appeared near the youngling's shelter," Optimus said grimly. "They were lured here by the renegades; Mirage was attacked and just barely managed to get away. Hook is berserk, and pinning his brothers and the medics in the med bay. Ratchet tells me it is all they can do to contain him. We need help."

Megatron went to jet form even as he was ordering the closest squads to assist. When he was close, he met Whirlwind, who was wobbling with exhaustion. Megatron contacted Starscream to come get his youngling before he crashed, just as Whirlwind got close enough to shout.

"It's the leader guy, the telepath, he's trying to get "Nigma!" the little seeker yelled. "And the other bad mechs are after the rest of us! All the adults are fighting the snakes!"

Starscream appeared and grabbed his youngling. "Go on, I'll contact you if there's more information!"

Megatron did not wait for more. When he was closer, he could see the snakes, but Optimus and caregivers were on one side while several squads were racing up on the other. He heard shots, and he saw Enigma on the roof of the med bay, head in hands. He saw the telepath focusing on Enigma. The renegades were fighting the other younglings.

….

Annihilate never had a chance to change his focus. From the skies came a roar and a transform, and Megatron stood behind the telepath. In one short blow it was over. Megatron leaned over the crushed body and made certain the spark was gone. When he turned to deal with the other renegades, he found them dropped, with confused younglings standing around them.

Then he retracted his weapon and held his arms up to his youngling, who fell gratefully into them. Megatron ensured no one was badly hurt before he left Enigma with his friends and went into the med bay.

As he came in, Ratchet was putting Hook into forced recharge while his brothers held him down. Everyone was battered but no one was leaking or limping. With Megatron's news, First Aid went to deal with the renegades and the younglings, while Ratchet went back to the injured and Megatron took the others to fight snakes.

Later that day, when the immediate needs were settled, there was a meeting in the shelter to find out what happened. First Aid met the caregivers as they came in, with the news that no one was injured beyond some scrapes and bruises, and that Enigma was shaken by the telepath's attack but otherwise all right.

"That attack was planned," Megatron said when they were settled into the room. "They lured the snakes-nobody knows how, but Mirage was sure of it- and then they went after the younglings."

"'Nigma knew that the leader would come after us," Hope said. "So we told the little ones to tell an adult if they saw a stranger. Then we talked about how you would have to fight somebody who could read thoughts." Bumblebee brushed dust off her back and she squirmed.

"Sirius came up with a plan," Boombox said, "We didn't know 'Nigma would be in the way, though, and Whirlwind had to get him out of the way before he could go for help. But a lot of it worked great!" Blaster looked at a dent on Boombox's arm and thought how much worse it could have been.

"Did you know that Annihilate would use some kind of distraction?" Sideswipe asked. He kept his arm around Sunspot. He was almost numb with relief. First his twin had been in the thick of the fighting, before the snakes appeared and had to be fought off, and then he discovered that his youngling was fighting. That all of them were alive with only minor injuries was a miracle he thanked Primus for with great sincerity.

"No," Enigma said, "but he told me he would go after the younglings. So we made a plan. It didn't work the way we thought it would. "Megatron kept his arm around Enigma, who was huddling against him.

"We thought he would go after all of us, and that there would be more, and that the adults would be fighting the other bad mechs," Joy said. "We were just going to help the leader that read processors. We thought if he was busy the other bad mechs wouldn't be as hard to fight." Bluestreak said nothing, only holding her to him and thanking Primus that he agreed for Ironhide to teach the younglings fighting skills.

"Stainless came up with the fighting pattern," Pedigree said, "so we wouldn't hit each other." Hound resolved to upgrade Pedigree with his own holoform abilities as soon as possible. If his youngling had that ability, he could have used it instead of having to fight.

"And everybody followed it," Stainless crowed, "so none of us got hurt and we banged up that slagger good!" Chromia smacked him for cursing, but lightly. She was proud of him.

"That one would have got Hope if 'Nigma hadn't knocked him out of the way," Sirius noted. Elita was relieved. Sirius used his analytical skills the way they should be used.

"The leader was after 'Nigma," Sunspot said. "He called 'Nigma a Prime. I heard him."

Stunned silence followed that, with every gaze going to Enigma, who tried to bury himself into Megatron's side.

"You all did very well," Optimus Prime said. The younglings started. The adults saw him come in. "You made a reasonable plan, you followed it when it worked, you improvised when it did not, and you worked together. I am proud of you, and I hope none of you ever have to use those skills to fight again."

"I agree," Bumblebee said, "but my little fighter needs the wash racks and her recharge berth." In agreement, the meeting ended, with caregivers dispersing with their charges.

Megatron said nothing as they reached home. He felt better after getting clean. Enigma climbed into the larger berth with his mentor, curling up against the solid reassurance of that massive bulk, and began to talk. Megatron listened and fit the pieces of events together.

"So you seem to have settled matters with Optimus Prime," Megatron said, when Enigma stopped. The youngling nodded. " He knows?" Enigma nodded. "Then don't worry. When you're ready, you'll work with Prime, and not before, and if anyone gives you a problem, I will deal with them."

Enigma sighed in relief. "You're the best mentor anyone ever had," he said, and soon after settled into recharge. Megatron held his youngling Prime to him, and thanked Primus for the safety of the youngling who became his greatest treasure.

_**Vorns later**_

Optimus and Megatron waited. They were in the forecourt of the Temple where the sparkings were arranged.

Enigma came out of the Temple and gestured him in, smiling. "I wondered when you would get around to this," he said. Optimus smiled back. Enigma, upgraded now to twice his former height, was still small but he was comfortable with his status. Optimus was still the leader, being the senior Prime. Enigma Prime ran the Temple, managed sparkings, and was the lead judge when such was needed. Even now the settlement was too small to need that position often.

But it was certainly growing. There were two cities now. A few mechs lost in space trickled in, but now each Cybertronian judged able to raise a sparkling had at least one. All of the matured younglings had siblings. Hope had two; Arcee and Bumblebee joined and each had one more child. Some, like Sunstreaker, had to agree to accepting help with their sparklings. Sideswipe was glad to agree to work with his twin.

"Sirius and Powersurge are trained enough for us to take the time now," Megatron said.

"Excuses, excuses," Enigma sing-songed. "You raised me."

"You were easy. Everyone said so," Megatron sniffed. "This time I'm getting a sparkling, not a youngling."

"Come on then. I have everything ready." He led them into the sparking room. "Who's building your protoforms?" Predictably, Wheeljack was building Optimus' and Starscream built Megatron's. Megatron wondered why Enigma was leaning against the wall casually.

"Soundwave and Elita are willing to pitch in with child care as well. " Soundwave got a double spark and was raising twins. "I still have that big berth we used to sleep on," Megatron went on, "and the new school and daycare is near the central offices. "

"You're good now," Enigma told them. "Be sure to visit Ratchet and Hook and get your lectures. I swear by Primus that they haven't changed since we were on Earth."

They looked at each other and then at him. "What, did you expect the third degree or something? I knew you'd both get a spark before you ever came in. And let me tell you something, I better be told when both of you are ready for the awakening, because I want to be at both."

Some time later, new holograms were in his private quarters. Megatron held Skytearer and Blast-Off in one picture. Enigma smiled to himself when he remembered his mentor telling him he's better help with sparkling sitting. The other was Optimus and Sirius holding Projector and Enforcer.

Renewal, Enigma thought.


End file.
